Basic Details
Word: Depression
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A low, sunken place in a surface, such as a dip in the ground. Weather reports also use it for an area of low air pressure that brings clouds and rain. It is also the name of an illness in which a person feels deeply sad for a long time.
Synonyms: hollow, dip, gloom
Antonyms: cheerfulness
How to Spell Depression
Syllables: de - pres - sion
Tricky part: The ending is ssion with a double s, not tion or shun. The word starts with de, not di.
Watch out for: depresion, depretion, dipression
Memory tip: Press something down and you leave a depression. Keep the whole word press, double s and all, then add ion: de + press + ion.
Usage Examples
Example 1: There is a small depression in the sofa where Dadu always sits.
Example 2: From the hilltop we could see the lake lying in a deep depression between the ridges.
Example 3: Doctors say depression is an illness, and talking to someone you trust can really help.
Fun Fact
On the India Meteorological Department scale, a depression has steady winds of 31 to 49 km/h. Stronger systems become a deep depression and then a cyclonic storm.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) obsession
b) compassion
c) procession
d) dipression
Show answer
d) dipression. The word begins with de, the same start as in descend, so dipression is wrong.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: depression
a) pride
b) cheer
c) delight
d) gloom
Show answer
d) gloom. Gloom is a heavy, sad feeling, close to depression in its sense of low spirits.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
pnodrsiese
a) impression
b) procession
c) depressing
d) depression
Show answer
d) depression. The letters have a d and an o but no g, m or c, so they spell depression.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Fishermen were warned not to go to sea because a deep depresion was moving towards the coast.
a) moving
b) depresion
c) coast
d) warned
Show answer
b) depresion. Depression needs two s's before ion.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In a weather report, a depression is ____.
a) a calm, clear sky
b) a rainbow after a storm
c) an area of low air pressure
d) a very hot, dry day
Show answer
c) an area of low air pressure
2. Which of these is a depression in a surface?
a) a flat, smooth table
b) a pile of bricks
c) a dent in a metal plate
d) a tall flagpole
Show answer
c) a dent in a metal plate
