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Definition of "manic-depressive" [manic-depressive]

  • Of, relating to, or having bipolar disorder. (adjective)
  • A person who has bipolar disorder. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "manic-depressive" in a sentence
  • "The disease that encompassed all these different appearances was now to be called manic-depressive insanity."
  • "An ironic exception to these nineteenth-century writers who were emphasizing the mysterious, irrational, and overwhelming forces that gave rise to genius was the essayist Charles Lamb; confined at one time to a private asylum for what now would almost certainly be called manic-depressive illness, he was also the close companion to a sister intermittently insane with manic-depressive psychosis."
  • "They found that less than half of those with bipolar disorder -- also known as manic-depressive illness -- received mental health treatment during their lifetimes."