chemical imbalance

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see chemical, imbalance.

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Meanings

nounchemical imbalance (plural chemical imbalances)

plural chemical imbalances

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see chemical, imbalance.
  2. euphemisticMental illness.

    Anyone who knew him well would suspect he had a chemical imbalance. He had been unhappy recently. And there was a history of suicide in the family; his mother had tried to kill herself.

    2009, Rob Warden, Steven Drizin, True Stories of False Confessions, →ISBN, page 28

Origin

The sense "mental illness" is due to the fact that some mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish desbalance químico
  • desbalance químicoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

chemical imbalance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemical%20imbalance

MLA

“chemical imbalance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemical%20imbalance. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chemical imbalance,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chemical%20imbalance.

Source: chemical imbalance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.