mental

¹

[men-tl]

adjective

1. of or relating to the mind.

   mental powers;

   mental suffering.

2. of, relating to, or affected by a disorder of the mind.

   a mental patient;

   mental illness.

3. providing care for persons with disordered minds, emotions, etc..

   a mental hospital.

4. performed by or existing in the mind.

   mental arithmetic;

   a mental note.

5. pertaining to intellectuals or intellectual activity.

6. Informal.,  slightly daft; out of one's mind; crazy.

   He's mental.

noun

1. Informal.,  a person with a psychological disorder.

   a fascist group made up largely of mentals.

mental

²

[men-tl]

adjective

1. of or relating to the chin.

mental

¹

/ ˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or involving the mind or an intellectual process

2. occurring only in the mind

   mental calculations

3. Preferred form: psychiatric. affected by mental illness

   a mental patient

4. Preferred form: psychiatric. concerned with care for persons with mental illness

   a mental hospital

5. slang,  insane

mental

²

/ ˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. Also: genial. anatomy of or relating to the chin

Other Word Forms

• mentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mental¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin mentālis, equivalent to Latin ment- (stem of mēns ) mind + -ālis -al ¹

Origin of mental²

First recorded in 1720–30; from Latin ment(um) “the chin” ( mentum ) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of mental¹

C15: from Late Latin mentālis, from Latin mēns mind

Origin of mental²

C18: from Latin mentum chin

Example Sentences

The team includes medical staff, child protection experts and a mental health team, the agency said, adding that up to 1,000 people had been affected.

From BBC

It was an era with much less openness about mental health and wellbeing - but she later revealed how much she had suffered from "acute depression".

From BBC

There should be areas on campus for both, he said, and also “an area for those with severe mental illness that really need case management.”

From Los Angeles Times

Thomas’ insecurities only worsen as the boys mature and head off to college, where he begins showing symptoms of mental illness.

From Salon

As tech companies charge ahead, child safety and advocacy groups have raised concerns there aren’t enough guardrails in place to protect the mental health of young people as they spill their darkest thoughts to chatbots.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cerebral 
• intellectual 
• psychiatric www.thesaurus.com
• subjective 

When To Use

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.