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mental
1[ men-tl ]
adjective
- of or relating to the mind:
mental powers;
mental suffering.
- of, relating to, or affected by a disorder of the mind:
a mental patient;
mental illness.
- providing care for persons with disordered minds, emotions, etc.:
a mental hospital.
- performed by or existing in the mind:
mental arithmetic;
a mental note.
- pertaining to intellectuals or intellectual activity.
- Informal. slightly daft; out of one's mind; crazy:
He's mental.
noun
- Informal. a person with a psychological disorder:
a fascist group made up largely of mentals.
mental
2[ men-tl ]
adjective
- of or relating to the chin.
mental
1/ ˈmɛntəl /
adjective
- of or involving the mind or an intellectual process
- occurring only in the mind
mental calculations
- affected by mental illness Preferred formpsychiatric
a mental patient
- concerned with care for persons with mental illness Preferred formpsychiatric
a mental hospital
- slang.insane
mental
2/ ˈmɛntəl /
adjective
- anatomy of or relating to the chin Alsogenial
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Derived Forms
- ˈmentally, adverb
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mental1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of mental1
Origin of mental2
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Example Sentences
We want to be the brand bringing science ancestral wisdom while also actively supporting positive mental well-being and an outer glow.
This all had taken a toll on Terry, who had been grappling with his own mental health.
The commission stressed that babies resulting from germline edits will have to be followed long term, to better understand any potential health issues—mental or physical—throughout their lives.
This mental competition sets up an arms race—a scenario in which competition causes each side to accumulate potential to damage the other.
The platform will also dive into philanthropy by highlighting local community issues providing mental health services for children as well as residents of public housing.
In the classic skillset of piloting, mental acuity, and its coordination with hand and foot movements, is equally vital.
Few reports of his mental illness discuss lead poisoning as a possible reason for his mental deterioration.
They take home mental baggage unlike anything carried in almost every other job.
“We all need to take care of our own mental health,” Darden said.
He suggested I needed mental help, and offered to help me transfer to another college.
And this college course I have sketched should, in the modern state, pass insensibly into adult mental activities.
It makes out of the savage raw material which is our basal mental stuff, a citizen.
To make the effort of articulation a vital impulse in response to a mental concept,—this is the object sought.
The two enjoyed a mutual understanding from which he was excluded, a private intimacy that was spiritual, mental,— physical.
He took mental inventory of his possessions and what he could lay claim to, and he happened to think about his wife's homestead.
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Related Words
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More About Mental
What does mental mean?
Mental is an adjective that means relating to the mind.
It is especially used in contrast with physical, which means relating to the body. Mental is commonly used in the context of psychological disorders or the care and treatment of people who have them. One of its most common uses is in the phrase mental health.
Mental is sometimes used as a slang term with the same meaning as the informal sense of crazy, especially in the U.K. It’s typically used to describe a person or their behavior as being extreme or illogical in some way. Keep in mind, however, that when used in this way, words like crazy and mental may reinforce harmful stereotypes and associations with mental illness.
Example: To be an elite athlete, you have to be physically strong, but you also have to perfect the mental aspects of your game.
Where does mental come from?
The first records of mental come from around the 1400s. It comes from the Late Latin term mentālis, which derives from the Latin mens, meaning “mind.”
Due to the rise in acceptance, study, and treatment of mental illness, mental is very closely associated with such issues. It is often seen in phrases like mental health, mental fatigue, and mental hygiene. It is also very commonly used in a general way to describe things related to the mind or done in the mind, such as in the phrases mental note (a thought to remember something later), mental image (a picture seen in one’s mind), and mental math or mental arithmetic (math done in one’s head, as opposed to with a calculator or on paper).
Mental also has a definition separate from the mind entirely. The word mentum refers to the chin, so mental can be used to mean “relating to the chin.”
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What are some other forms related to mental?
- mentally (adverb)
What are some synonyms for mental?
What are some words that share a root or word element with mental?
What are some words that often get used in discussing mental?
How is mental used in real life?
Mental is most generally used to indicate things done with or in the mind as opposed to with the body. It is very closely associated with issues of mental health.
Teens with mental illness dismissed as 'teenagers', women as 'emotional', and men told to 'man up'. Ignore the stigma. Illness isn't shame.
— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) August 30, 2017
1/Goal setting in times of high trauma. Passing on a tip that I've learned across the years. Though my ambition & instinct is to give myself a full agenda filled with lofty goals, I find when trauma is already pushing down on you those lists can lead to collapse & mental fatigue
— Rachel Miner (@RachelMiner1) March 30, 2020
After surprising myself with some mental math tonight I kinda wish I knew a way to get back into tutoring higher math. I miss that being one of my jobs
— Evan Edinger (@EvanEdinger) August 31, 2018
Try using mental!
Which of the following actions is LEAST likely to be described as mental?
A. calculating a sum in your head
B. meditating
C. doing a push-up
D. picturing something in your mind
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