ssri

IPA/ˌes.es.ɑːr.ˈaɪ/
IPA/ˌes.es.ɑːr.ˈaɪ/

ssri — noun

1. a medicine from a group often prescribed for depression or anxiety, designed to

1.nounC1
Definition

a medicine from a group often prescribed for depression or anxiety, designed to keep more serotonin available in the brain

Example

After two sleepless months, Yuki started an SSRI at the clinic.

start an SSRI

The leaflet warned that Paloma's SSRI might take weeks to help.

an SSRI may take weeks to help

Common collocations
  • start an SSRI
  • take an SSRI daily
  • go on an SSRI
  • stop an SSRI suddenly
Synonyms
  • antidepressant

    broader term; an SSRI is one subgroup within antidepressant medicines

Grammar Patterns

start an SSRI

be on an SSRI

Usage Note

Doctors often talk about starting, increasing, lowering, or stopping an SSRI. People also commonly say be on an SSRI when they mean they are taking it regularly.

Common Mistakes

My sleeping pill is an SSRI.
My doctor prescribed an SSRI for my anxiety.
an SSRI names a class of antidepressant medicine, not any pill that makes you feel calmer or sleepy.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

SSRI is a specific kind of antidepressant, so the two terms are related but not equal. Antidepressant is the umbrella word for medicines used to treat depression; an SSRI is one common subtype, often also prescribed for anxiety. An SNRI is close in purpose, but it affects serotonin and another chemical, norepinephrine, so doctors may choose it for different symptom patterns. A sedative is different again: it mainly calms the body or makes sleep easier, rather than naming the same long-term treatment class. So a doctor may say, 'Let's try an SSRI,' but a patient might describe it more generally as 'an antidepressant.'

SSRI ↗antidepressant ↗SNRIsedative

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • start an SSRI
  • go on an SSRI
  • come off an SSRI
  • switch to an SSRI

Prepositions

Etymology

Modern English medical terminology

SSRI is an initialism from modern medical English: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. The name describes how the medicine works. It selectively slows the reuptake of serotonin, which leaves more of that chemical available between nerve cells. In everyday use, speakers usually say the letters one by one and then treat the term as a countable noun, as in 'an SSRI' or 'two SSRIs'.

First known use

1991

1991, in the meaning defined above