# depression

Pronunciation: US say "duh-PRESH-uhn" /dəˈpɹɛʃn̩/; UK say "di-PRESH-uhn" /dɪˈpɹɛʃn̩/

## Noun

1. A mental health condition, or a long period of it, in which a person feels deeply sad and hopeless and loses interest in life.
   - Simple: An illness, or a long period of it, in which you feel very sad and hopeless and lose interest in things.
   - _Untreated depression can affect a person's sleep, appetite, and ability to work._
   - _She sought therapy when depression began to color every part of her day._
2. A long and severe slump in a nation's economy, with falling output and trade and high unemployment.
   - Simple: A long time when a country's economy is very bad and many people have no work.
   - _Economists warned that the financial crisis could deepen into a full depression._
   - _During the depression, unemployment soared and entire industries collapsed._
3. A region of lowered air pressure that usually brings moist weather and can sometimes strengthen into a tropical storm or hurricane.
   - Simple: An area where the air pressure is low, often bringing wet or stormy weather.
   - _A deepening depression in the Atlantic threatened to strengthen into a tropical storm._
   - _The depression brought low cloud and steady rain across the region._
4. A hollow or sunken area in a surface, especially a part of the ground lower than the land around it.
   - Simple: A low part of a surface, such as a spot on the ground that is lower than the land around it.
   - _A shallow depression in the desert floor marked where a lake had once been._
   - _Water pooled in every depression along the muddy trail._
5. A reduction in a particular biological variable or in the function of an organ, as contrasted with elevation.
   - Simple: A drop in the activity of a body system or in a measured body level.
   - _Opioids can cause respiratory depression at high doses._
   - _The medication produced a marked depression of immune function._
6. The act of lowering something or pressing it downward.
   - Simple: The action of lowering something or pressing it down.
   - _The depression of the piano key produces the note._
   - _Continuous depression of the brake pedal slowed the car gradually._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French from Latin "dēpressiō", and is equivalent to "depress" plus the suffix "-ion".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/depression (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).