mental illness
noun
variants
or mental disorder
or less commonly mental disease
: any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning
mentally ill
adjective
Examples of mental illness in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness affecting how a person thinks, feels and behaves.
—
Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Instead, Westcott said, prolonged isolation and lack of meaningful contact with his wife exacerbated his mental illness.
—Ron Wilkins, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Nov. 2024
In the present Yuen attempts to learn more about mental illness and how this might help him with Ming.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 2 Nov. 2024
Aaron Aubrey, 28, had an extensive history of mental illness and violence.
—Christopher Damien, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
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Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Instead, Westcott said, prolonged isolation and lack of meaningful contact with his wife exacerbated his mental illness.
—Ron Wilkins, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Nov. 2024
In the present Yuen attempts to learn more about mental illness and how this might help him with Ming.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 2 Nov. 2024
Aaron Aubrey, 28, had an extensive history of mental illness and violence.
—Christopher Damien, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mental illness
Dictionary Entries Near mental illness
Cite this Entry
“Mental illness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mental%20illness. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
mental illness
noun
variants
or mental disorder
also mental disease
: any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning
Some homeless families are also hindered by substance abuse and mental illness.—Ellen L. Bassuk, Scientific American
Ellen L. Bassuk, Scientific AmericanCatatonia is usually an expression of mental disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but it could also come from other medical problems, such as a brain tumor.—Forrest Wickman, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Forrest Wickman, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette… mental diseases such as schizophrenia and manic depression may either involve more than one gene or may result from a complex mix of genetic predisposition and environmental rotten luck.—Natalie Angier, The New York Times Book Review
Natalie Angier, The New York Times Book Review
mentally ill
adjective
mentally ill patients
Mental health workers … perform a wide variety of therapeutic, supportive, and preventative functions for persons who are mentally ill and developmentally disabled.
—Barbara M. Swanson, Careers in Health Care
Barbara M. Swanson, Careers in Health Care
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