definition of the word mental_illness

mental illness (countable and uncountable; plural mental illnesses)

1. (uncountable) The property of being mentally ill; mental disorders taken as a whole.
   • 2006, R. Keith Sawyer, Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation,^[1] Oxford University Press US, ISBN 9780195161649, page 87:

     Such studies show that geniuses are not any more likely to suffer from mental illness than the rest of us.

2. (countable) A mental disorder.
   • 2002, Vikram Patel, Where There is No Psychiatrist: A Mental Health Care Manual,^[2] RCPsych Publications ISBN 978-1-901242-75-1, page 70:

     Epilepsy is not a mental illness. It is caused by electrical changes in the brain.

• The uncountable sense is far more common than the countable.

• This page was last modified on 2 September 2010, at 20:23.
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