depression

Universal Words noun 1 [U] a medical condition in which a person feels very sad and anxious and often has physical SYMPTOMS such as being unable to sleep, etc: clinical depression * She suffered from severe depression after losing her job. * post-natal depression 2 [U,C] the state of feeling very sad and without hope: There was a feeling of gloom and depression in the office when the news of the job cuts was announced. 3 [C,U] a period when there is little economic activity and many people are poor or without jobs: The country was in the grip of (an) economic depression. * the great Depression of the 1930s 4 [C] (written) a part of a surface that is lower than the parts around it SYNHOLLOW: Rainwater collects in shallow depressions on the ground. 5 [C] (technical) a weather condition in which the pressure of the air becomes lower, often causing rain: an atmospheric depression moving east from the Atlantic compareANTICYCLONE