adj, noun ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A pharmacological substance which decreases neuronal or physiological activity. countable, uncountable

   "Alcohol acts first as a stimulant and then as a depressant."

2. 2
   a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person wordnet
3. 3
   An agent that inhibits the flotation of a mineral or minerals. countable, uncountable

Adjective

1. 1
   Reducing functional or nervous activity.

   "the conception of the asomatous depressant malaria"

Adjective

1. 1
   capable of depressing physiological or psychological activity or response by a chemical agent wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

sedativealcoholamobarbital sodiumamytalamytal pillanalgesic

Antonyms

All antonyms

stimulative

Example

More examples

"Which anti depressant would you recommend for someone who can not take hormones?"

Etymology

From depress + -ant.

Related phrases

manic-depressant

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.