seasonal affective disorder

noun

: depression that tends to recur chiefly during the late fall and winter and is associated with shorter hours of daylight

—abbreviation SAD

Did you know?

Seasonal affective disorder hasn't been recognized as a medical condition for very long, and the term has only become part of the general English vocabulary during the past three decades or so (its earliest documented appearance in print dates from 1983). "Seasonal affective disorder" (abbreviated SAD) is also sometimes called "Winter Depression" and some researchers describe it as a "hibernation reaction" in which sensitive individuals react to the decreasing amounts of light and the colder temperatures of fall and winter.

Examples of seasonal affective disorder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

How to combat seasonal affective disorder The easiest way to start taking action against SAD is to focus on light exposure, Shah said. —Kristen Rogers, CNN, 20 Jan. 2025

Expecting to see spikes in seasonal affective disorder, Dr. Leibowitz was shocked to learn that Nordic people weren’t all that bummed out by the long, dark, and extreme winters. —Julia Ries, SELF, 16 Jan. 2025

All of this makes all of the January and not just a single day in January a prime month for seasonal affective disorder, which is also fittingly known as SAD. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025

This period is often called SAD season, for seasonal affective disorder, which affects many people. —Renée Onque, CNBC, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for seasonal affective disorder

• boarder
• border
• corder
• order
• warder
• camcorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

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Medical Definition

seasonal affective disorder

noun

sea·​son·​al affective disorder ˌsēz-ᵊn-əl- 

: depression that tends to recur each year chiefly during the late fall and winter and is associated with shorter hours of daylight

—abbreviation SAD