Decompensation
//diːˌkɒmpɛnˈseɪʃən// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The inability of a diseased or weakened organic system or organ to compensate for its deficiency, resulting in functional deterioration. countable, uncountable
"Once it was determined that hyperthyroidism was the probable etiology of her cardiac decompensation, the next step was treatment of the underlying disease."
- 2 The deterioration of cognitive or emotional functionality in a person who is distressed or who suffers from a psychological disorder. countable, uncountable
"A varying percentage of our combat soldiers reach the limit of their endurance and must leave their foxholes, not for physical wounds but because of emotional decompensation."
Example
More examples"Once it was determined that hyperthyroidism was the probable etiology of her cardiac decompensation, the next step was treatment of the underlying disease."
Etymology
From de- + compensation.
More for "decompensation"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.