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nervous breakdown
noun
: an attack of mental or emotional disorder especially when of sufficient severity to require hospitalization
Examples of nervous breakdown in a Sentence
She had a nervous breakdown shortly after her sister's death.
He is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Recent Examples on the Web
The part of Elena, a despot on the verge of a nervous breakdown, is a departure for Winslet, who has chosen, over the course of her career, a wide range of characters who have in common an intrinsic power.
—Susan Dominus, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
In three quick sequences, Blunt has already given us a rough sketch of who this person is: a world traveler with a lot of life experience under her belt, a bruised romantic, and a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2024
Duncan, who has experienced a nervous breakdown after traveling with Bella, objects to the wedding.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024
Stiller plays Roger Greenberg, a neurotic 40-something who is recovering from a nervous breakdown by crashing at his brother's Hollywood Hills home while his family is on vacation.
—Lia Beck, EW.com, 12 Jan. 2024
The British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, already frazzled and taking amphetamines, had a nervous breakdown.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024
The effort nearly led to a nervous breakdown: Eight hours a day studying for classical, over-the-board tournaments was incompatible with producing compelling daily digital content.
—Reid Forgrave, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2023
This led to one of her multiple hospitalizations, all at the behest of the men in her life, with the reasons varying from nervous breakdown, Adderall abuse, and — after her father took control of her life — for taking over-the-counter energy supplements.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
The operatic canon represents a long lineage of women pushed well beyond the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nervous breakdown.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1866, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of nervous breakdown was
in 1866
Dictionary Entries Near nervous breakdown
Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Kids Definition
nervous breakdown
noun
: an attack of mental or emotional disorder that is severe enough to require hospitalization
Medical Definition
nervous breakdown
noun
: an attack of mental or emotional disorder especially when of sufficient severity to require hospitalization
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