How to spell depression

hear itde·pres·sion/dɪ'prɛʃən/nounRules and real life

What it means: A feeling of deep sadness or unhappiness.

In a sentence: The rain made the plants feel sad, like they were in a little depression.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double s, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as depresion or dipression.

Same family: depressed, depressive, depressing, antidepressant, depression-like. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Depression” comes from the Latin verb *deprimere*, meaning “to press down.” It first described physical sinking or lowering, and later became a metaphor for being emotionally “pressed down” or “low in mood.”

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

function · possession · description · patience · passion · funeral · measure · certificate

Spelling.School is a spaced-repetition spelling practice: ten minutes a day, every word spoken aloud, every miss explained, and every word coming back just before you would forget it. Try five words without signing up.