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   de·pres·sion

   /dəˈpreSH(ə)n/

   noun

   • 1. feelings of severe despondency and dejection: "self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to depression" Similar melancholymiserysadnessunhappinesssorrowwoegloomgloominessdejectiondownheartednessdespondencydispiritednesslow spiritsheavy-heartednessmorosenessdiscouragementdespairdesolationdolefulnessmoodinesspessimismhopelessnessthe slough of despondupsettearfulnessinformal:the dumpsthe doldrumsthe bluesone's black doga lowthe blahsa funka blue funkinformal, dated:the mopestechnical:clinical depressionendogenous depressionreactive depressionpostnatal depressiondysthymiamelancholialiterary:dolorarchaic:the megrimsrare:moperydisconsolatenessdisconsolationOpposite cheerfulness
   • ▪ a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep: "she was referred by a psychiatrist treating her for depression"
   • 2. a long and severe recession in an economy or market: "the depression in the housing market" Similar recessionslumpdeclinedownturnslowdownstandstillparalysisinactivitystagnationcredit crunchcredit squeezehard timesbad timestechnical:stagflationOpposite boom
   • ▪ the financial and industrial slump of 1929 and subsequent years.
   • 3. the action of lowering something or pressing something down: "depression of the plunger delivers two units of insulin"
   • ▪ a sunken place or hollow on a surface: "the original shallow depressions were slowly converted to creeks" Similar hollowindentationdentdintcavityconcavitydippitholepotholesinksinkholeexcavationtroughcratervalleybasinbowlfossalacunaOpposite protuberance
   • 4. a region of lower atmospheric pressure, especially a cyclonic weather system: "hurricanes start off as loose regions of bad weather known as tropical depressions"
   • 5. the angular distance of an object below the horizon or a horizontal plane.

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin depressio(n-), from deprimere ‘press down’ (see depress).

   Scrabble Points: 13

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