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
The late 1970s and early 1980s are remembered for deinstitutionalization — the well-meaning movement to send people with mental illness out of hospitals and into society.
—
Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 29 Nov. 2024
Sentencing is set to resume Monday in the trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, who was found guilty of deadly conduct last month in the fatal shooting of a man with a history of mental illness.
—Skye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024
Penny, a former Marine, is also charged with criminally negligent homicide in the May 1, 2023, killing of Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness.
—Janelle Griffith, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2024
Born on March 14, 1933, in Chicago, Quincy Delight Jones was raised in a tumultuous environment marked by the Great Depression and his mother’s mental illness.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 4 Nov. 2024
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Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 29 Nov. 2024
Sentencing is set to resume Monday in the trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, who was found guilty of deadly conduct last month in the fatal shooting of a man with a history of mental illness.
—Skye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024
Penny, a former Marine, is also charged with criminally negligent homicide in the May 1, 2023, killing of Neely, who struggled with mental illness and homelessness.
—Janelle Griffith, NBC News, 19 Nov. 2024
Born on March 14, 1933, in Chicago, Quincy Delight Jones was raised in a tumultuous environment marked by the Great Depression and his mother’s mental illness.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 4 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 14 Dec. 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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