bipolar

The definition of bipolar is people or things with two poles or two opposite opinions or traits.

(adjective)

  1. An example of bipolar is a transistor device that can switch between amplifying digital and analog sound.
  2. An example of bipolar is a person who votes for extreme progressives and extreme conservatives in the same election.

Bipolar is defined as a person with manic depressive illness, a syndrome affecting the mood that is characterized by sometimes-abrupt swings from deep depression to periods of "manic" excitability.

Facts About Bipolar Disorder

  • Historical medical reports describe the swinging between mania and depression states as far back as the second century.
  • In 1650, research scientist Richard Burton published the definition of depression in "The Anatomy of Melancholia," one of the earliest substantial scientific publications on the syndrome of depression.
  • Bipolar disorder is somewhat tricky to diagnose because it can include so many variations and such a wide range of symptoms.
  • Individuals with bipolar disorder do not necessarily experience half of their time in mania and half of their time in depression. Sometimes years may separate the swings between the two, and sometimes a long period of one extreme may be followed by a very short, abrupt burst of the other.
(adjective)

An example of a bipolar condition is someone who alternates between depression and madness.

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See bipolar in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

  1. of or having two poles
  2. of or involving both of the earth's polar regions
  3. characterized by two directly opposite opinions, natures, etc.
  4. of or affected by bipolar affective disorder: bipolar characteristics

Related Forms:

See bipolar in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Relating to or having two poles or charges.
  2. Relating to a device capable of using two polarizations, such as a transistor that uses positive and negative charge carriers.
  3. Relating to or involving both of the earth's polar regions.
  4. Having two opposite or contradictory ideas or natures: the bipolar world of the postwar period.
  5. Biology Having two poles or opposite extremities: a bipolar neuron.
  6. Psychology Relating to a major affective disorder that is characterized by episodes of mania and depression.

Related Forms:

  • biˌpo·larˈi·ty (-lărˈĭ-tē) noun

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