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
Penny’s history as a student and Marine The case against Penny stemmed from the death of Neely, a 30-year-old street artist who struggled with homelessness, mental illness and drugs, on a New York City subway car on May 1, 2023.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 10 Dec. 2024
Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide Monday in the chokehold killing of Jordan Neely on a Manhattan F train — bringing closure in the polarizing case that provoked heated debates about vigilantism, mental illness and subway safety.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 9 Dec. 2024
The center helps people with mental illness live meaningful lives.
—John Johnston, The Enquirer, 6 Dec. 2024
Despite the urgency, in 2022, almost 50% of adults with a mental illness did not receive any care in the previous year.
—Surabhi Bhandari, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1724, in the meaning defined above
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 24 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
mental illness
noun
variants
or mental disorder
: a medical condition that is marked by a mild to severe disturbance in the way a person thinks, feels, or acts and is usually accompanied by distress and problems functioning in daily activities or interacting with others
mentally ill
adjective
Medical 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
Catatonia 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
… 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
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
Legal Definition
mental illness
noun
mental ill·ness
1
2
: a mental condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological and often social functioning of the individual
called also mental disorder
More from Merriam-Webster on mental illness
Britannica English: Translation of mental illness for Arabic Speakers
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