bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania

called also bipolar illness, manic depression

Examples of bipolar disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Big Mood follows Maggie, played by Coughlan, a 30-year-old writer with bipolar disorder. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 10 Feb. 2025

West had previously recounted being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and described his experience with an involuntary psychiatric hold. —Lisa Respers France, CNN, 6 Feb. 2025

In 2022, Brin and two wealthy couples—all of whom have family members diagnosed with bipolar disorder—committed $50 million each over five years to an entity called Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder, or BD2 for short. —Phoebe Liu, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2025

People with bipolar disorder may also want to be particularly cautious with light therapy, since a rare side effect of light boxes can be manic or hypomanic symptoms, according to Dr. Sprung. —Jamie Ballard, Allure, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized by alternating episodes of depression and mania

Medical Definition

bipolar disorder

noun

: any of several mood disorders characterized usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania

Note: The mania experienced in bipolar disorder may be of the euphoric or irritable type or both.

called also bipolar affective disorder, bipolar illness, manic depression, manic-depressive illness

compare major depressive disorder