mental

comparative more mental · superlative most mental

1. Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.
   1. relationalOccurring or experienced in the mind.

      I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera,[…], the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!

      1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “The Unexpected”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 240

      Synonyms: inner, psychological

   2. relationalRelating to the mind, its activity, or its products as an object of study.

      mental science

   3. relationalOf or relating to intellectual as contrasted with emotional activity.

      mental acuity

   4. relationalOf, relating to, or being intellectual as contrasted with overt physical activity.

      1 more example

      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

      2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34

      Synonyms: ideological

   5. relationalRelating to spirit or idea as opposed to matter.

      the distinction between physical things and mental ideas

2. Of, relating to, or affected by a psychiatric disorder.

   a mental patient

   1. relationalIntended for the care or treatment of persons affected by psychiatric disorders.

      mental hospitals

   2. AustraliaCanadaIrelandNew ZealandUKcolloquialcomparabledatedMentally disordered; insane, mad, crazy.

      He went mental on us.

      1 more example

      He is the most mental freshman I've seen yet.

3. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandUKcolloquialcomparableEnjoyable or fun, especially in a frenetic way.

   That was a mental party last night.

4. Of or relating to telepathic or mind-reading powers.

   mental telepathy

plural mentals

1. slangState of mind; ellipsis of mental state.

   y'all need to fix your mentals

2. UKslangA crazy person; a crackpot.

   2021, Mark Billingham, Rabbit Hole I could see straight away that he didn't really want to be there. That he thought interviewing a bunch of mentals was a colossal waste of time.

3. IndiaoffensiveA mentally challenged person.

1. not comparablerelationalanatomyOf or relating to the chin or median part of the lower jaw, genial.

   the mental nerve, the mental region

   Synonyms: genial, genian

2. not comparablerelationalbiologyOf or relating to the chinlike or liplike structure.

plural mentals

1. biologyA plate or scale covering the mentum or chin of a fish or reptile.