mental illness
noun
variants:
or mental disorder
or less commonly mental disease
Definition of mental illness
: 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
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Examples of mental illness in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The governor denied West's clemency application, which also said West had been taking powerful medication in prison to treat mental illness. — CBS News, "Tennessee executes inmate in electric chair for killing mother and daughter in 1986," 15 Aug. 2019 Candidates blasted Trump for blaming mental illness for the latest massacres and others. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, "At gun control forum after El Paso rampage, 2020 Dems join Bloomberg boasting that NRA is on the run," 10 Aug. 2019 There are many things that can get in the way of a parent’s emotional bond with their children, including mental illness or physical separation. — Annabelle Timsit, Quartz, "Smartphones are disrupting the crucial connections between parents and their babies," 31 July 2019 The small community on the mountain is centered around a shrine honoring a saint reputed to cure mental illness. — Rachel Monroe, Outside Online, "Last winter, Moroccan officials found two hikers dead on the trail to the highest peak in the Atlas Mountains. The international investigation that followed revealed the fragility of the adventure travel economy, as well as what happens when a small tourist hub is suddenly made strange by violence.," 29 July 2019 While most of the deaths were determined to be from natural or accidental causes, many of the dead had suffered mental illness that was not properly treated, according to records in the Nunez case and additional lawsuits. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Newly unsealed records show lapses in treatment, oversight in San Diego County jails," 30 June 2019 The nonprofit offers comprehensive services for people who have mental illness, addiction or other related challenges. — Terry Demio, Cincinnati.com, "Top Workplaces Cincinnati: Which firms have been on the list all 10 years?," 6 June 2019 Jones' mother has been in a mental institution for more than two decades with schizophrenia, and the defense called several experts to suggest Jones had the mental illness too, but it was never diagnosed. — Jeffrey Collins, Fox News, "Dad guilty of killing 5 kids faces possible death sentence," 5 June 2019 While there was some compassion in the comments that accompanied the news stories, prayers for the children and pleas to understand mental illness, Amanda was largely vilified. — Nancy Rommelmann, Good Housekeeping, "Amanda Stott-Smith Was a Loving Mother of 3. So Why Did She Try to Murder Her 2 Youngest Kids?," 29 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mental illness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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