AFFECTIVE DISORDER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does affective disorder mean? 

• AFFECTIVE DISORDER (noun)
  The noun AFFECTIVE DISORDER has 1 sense:

1. any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant

  Familiarity information: AFFECTIVE DISORDER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AFFECTIVE DISORDER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any mental disorder not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain and in which a major disturbance of emotions is predominant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

affective disorder; emotional disorder; emotional disturbance; major affective disorder

Hypernyms ("affective disorder" is a kind of...):

disturbance; folie; mental disorder; mental disturbance; psychological disorder ((psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "affective disorder"):

clinical depression; depression; depressive disorder (a state of depression and anhedonia so severe as to require clinical intervention)

mania; manic disorder (a mood disorder; an affective disorder in which the victim tends to respond excessively and sometimes violently)

bipolar disorder; manic-depressive psychosis; manic depression; manic depressive illness (a mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression)

 Context examples 

Some people get seasonal affective disorder in the winter.

(Depression, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)

A major affective disorder marked by severe mood swings (manic or major depressive episodes) and a tendency to remission and recurrence.

(Bipolar Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

Mood-stimulating drugs used primarily in the treatment of affective disorders and related conditions.

(Antidepressant Agent, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)