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
With The Coin, Zaher creates a hypnotic portrait of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
—
Shannon Carlin, TIME, 22 May 2024
The Gutierrez brothers grew up in a low-income house with an alcohol father who frequently beat both his sons and his wife, who at one point was hospitalized after a nervous breakdown, Mosnik wrote in her report.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024
The national nervous breakdown Which brings us to the debate, also known as the national nervous breakdown.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2024
Her perplexed grins and escalating paranoia are just shy of a nervous breakdown, but she is too measured to reduce an identity-shifting character to one frenetic quality.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nervous breakdown 
Shannon Carlin, TIME, 22 May 2024
The Gutierrez brothers grew up in a low-income house with an alcohol father who frequently beat both his sons and his wife, who at one point was hospitalized after a nervous breakdown, Mosnik wrote in her report.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024
The national nervous breakdown Which brings us to the debate, also known as the national nervous breakdown.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2024
Her perplexed grins and escalating paranoia are just shy of a nervous breakdown, but she is too measured to reduce an identity-shifting character to one frenetic quality.
—Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for nervous breakdown
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Nervous breakdown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nervous%20breakdown. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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