Word
antidepressant
Phoneticsan·tide·pres·sant
US/ˌæntidɪˈpɹɛsənt/
UK/ˌæntɪdɪpɹˈɛsənt/
Definition
n. a type of medicine that doctors prescribe to help people feel better when they are sad or have very low energy for a long time.
n. a class of medication used to treat clinical depression and other mood disorders by altering brain chemistry.
Examples
“The doctor prescribed an antidepressant to help him sleep better.”
“After several weeks of taking the antidepressant, she noticed a significant improvement in her ability to concentrate at work.”
“While antidepressants are effective for many patients, they often require several weeks of consistent use before the full therapeutic benefits become apparent in the brain's neural pathways.”
Examples
simple
“The doctor prescribed an antidepressant to help him sleep better.”
contextual
“After several weeks of taking the antidepressant, she noticed a significant improvement in her ability to concentrate at work.”
complex
“While antidepressants are effective for many patients, they often require several weeks of consistent use before the full therapeutic benefits become apparent in the brain's neural pathways.”
Real-World Examples
Common in culture and health writing
“When I was pregnant with my son, I continued taking the antidepressant citalopram.” “If multiple antidepressants haven’t helped, there are other avenues to explore.” Etymology
From anti- + depressant.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/antidepressant