ADHD

1. 1
   noununcountableinitialism

   Initialism of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

   The clinic specializes in diagnosing ADHD in adults who were overlooked as children.

   Medication and structured routines helped him manage his ADHD throughout college.

   Note

   Spoken letter by letter, A-D-H-D, and used as an uncountable noun. A person has ADHD, is diagnosed with ADHD, or is described as a person with ADHD. Despite the final letters of the full name, hyperactivity is not required. The disorder centers on inattention and impulsiveness, with or without that component, which is why someone who is not hyperactive can still have ADHD.

2. 2
   adjectivecolloquial

   Of or relating to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or characteristic of the behaviors associated with the condition.

   His ADHD tendencies tend to surface whenever a long project drags on without clear deadlines.

   She laughed and called her scattered, last-minute planning style very ADHD.

   Note

   Placed before a noun, the initialism works as a casual adjective, as in an ADHD person. It can even be graded (more ADHD, most ADHD, very ADHD) when it describes scattered or impulsive habits rather than a diagnosis. In formal or clinical writing, the noun is the safer choice: a person with ADHD rather than an ADHD person.

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