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depression
(de-presh´әn)
a hollow or depressed area.
a lowering or decrease of functional activity.
in psychiatry, a mental state of altered mood characterized by feelings of sadness, discouragement, and despair; it must be
distinguished from grief, which is a realistic and proportionate response to a personal loss. Profound depression may be an
illness itself, such as major depressive disorder, or it may be symptomatic of another psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia. adj., depres´sive., adj.
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