depression

IPA/dɪˈpreʃn/
KK[dɪprˈɛʃən]IPA/dɪˈpreʃn/

depression — noun

  • depressionsingular
  • depressionsplural

1. a mental health problem that causes someone to feel intensely sad, anxious, and

1.nounB2
Definition

a mental health problem that causes someone to feel intensely sad, anxious, and exhausted over many weeks, while losing interest in daily activities and hobbies.

Example

Hamza was diagnosed with severe depression after losing his job and began therapy.

be diagnosed with depression

The clinic offers free counselling for students who are dealing with depression.

Common collocations
  • suffer from depression
  • clinical depression
  • severe depression
  • treat depression
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

suffer from depression

be diagnosed with depression

Usage Note

Unlike general sadness, this refers to a diagnosable medical condition that typically requires professional treatment. Common treatments include therapy and medication.

Common Mistakes

I have a depression because it rained today.
I feel a bit down because it rained today.
Clinical depression is a long-term medical condition, not a reaction to a single event.

2. a strong feeling of unhappiness and hopelessness that lasts for hours or days, b

2.nounB1
Definition

a strong feeling of unhappiness and hopelessness that lasts for hours or days, but is not a medical condition.

Example

A sense of depression settled over Jenna when she heard bad news about her grandmother.

a sense of depression

After the holiday ended, Yuna felt a wave of depression that lasted a few days.

Common collocations
  • feelings of depression
  • deep depression
  • a sense of depression
  • wave of depression
Synonyms
  • sadness

    a more general, less intense term for unhappiness

  • melancholy

    a formal or literary word for deep, thoughtful sadness

  • despair

    a more extreme form of hopelessness and loss of hope

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a feeling/sense of depression

sink into depression

Usage Note

Distinguish from Sense 1 (CLINICAL CONDITION): this is a normal human emotion, not a diagnosable disorder. It is usually shorter and tied to a specific event.

Common Mistakes

I have depression because my team lost the game.
I felt really down after my team lost.
Reserve 'depression' for stronger, longer-lasting sadness to avoid confusion with the clinical sense.

3. a long period, lasting months or years, when a country's economy performs badly,

3.nounB2
Definition

a long period, lasting months or years, when a country's economy performs badly, with many business failures and high unemployment.

Example

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, millions of US workers lost their jobs.

the Great Depression (historical reference)

Economists warned the country could slide into a depression if trade policies did not improve.

Common collocations
  • economic depression
  • the Great Depression
  • slide into depression
  • worldwide depression
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • boom

    a period of strong economic growth

  • prosperity

    a state of economic success and wealth

Grammar Patterns

a depression

the Depression (historical)

economic depression

Usage Note

Often capitalised as 'the Depression' when referring specifically to the global economic crisis of the 1930s. A 'recession' is a milder, shorter downturn.

Common Mistakes

A small drop in sales means we are in a depression.
A depression is a prolonged economic crisis, not a short sales slump.
Use 'recession' for shorter, milder downturns.

4. a weather system in which the air pressure at the surface is lower than the surr

4.nounC1
Definition

a weather system in which the air pressure at the surface is lower than the surrounding area, often causing clouds, wind, and rain.

Example

A depression from the Atlantic will bring heavy rain to the coast tonight.

a depression from [direction]

The weather map showed a deep depression over northern Europe, causing strong winds.

Common collocations
  • deep depression
  • a depression over
  • depression bringing rain
Synonyms
  • low-pressure system

    the more common general term in everyday weather reports

  • cyclone

    a more intense, rotating low-pressure system with strong winds

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a depression + over [place]

Usage Note

Used mainly in weather forecasts and meteorology. A 'depression' is also called a 'low' or 'low-pressure system.' This term is more common in British English; American English prefers 'low-pressure system.'

5. an area on a surface where the material dips downward or has been pressed inward

5.nounC1
Definition

an area on a surface where the material dips downward or has been pressed inward, creating a spot that sits below the surrounding level.

Example

The old mattress had a depression in the middle where Asher had slept for years.

a depression in [surface]

Water collected in a depression on the path after the heavy rain.

Common collocations
  • a depression in
  • surface depression
  • shallow depression
Synonyms
  • hollow

    a more general term for an empty space inside a surface

  • dip

    a small, short depression in a level surface

  • dent

    a depression made by pressing or hitting a surface

Antonyms
  • bump

    a raised area on a surface

  • protrusion

    something that sticks out above the surrounding surface

Grammar Patterns

a depression in [surface]

Usage Note

Often used to describe physical features such as dents in metal, dips in roads, or hollows in the ground. This sense emphasises the shape of the surface, not the cause of the indentation.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Sadness is the most general term — a normal emotional response to disappointment or loss. Melancholy is a more thoughtful, lingering sadness, often with no clear cause, and is common in literary writing. Despair is far stronger: a complete loss of hope, often leading to a belief that nothing can improve. Gloom suggests a heavy, dark atmosphere of unhappiness that affects one's outlook: 'The rainy weather added to the gloom in the office.' For everyday use, sadness and gloom are the safest choices; despair should be reserved for extreme situations, and melancholy suits reflective or poetic contexts.

sadness ↗melancholy ↗despair ↗gloom ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • symptoms of depression
  • feelings of depression
  • period of depression
  • state of depression
  • causes of depression

Phrases

  • suffer from depression
  • in a state of depression
  • a deep depression
  • lift someone's depression

Prepositions

  • depression about
  • depression over
  • depression in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Depression comes from the Latin word 'depressio', meaning 'a pressing down'. This physical meaning of pushing downward later expanded into emotional and economic uses. By the 1600s, people used 'depression' to describe a low or sad state of mind. In the 1800s, economists began using it to describe a 'pressing down' of business activity and prices.