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An antidepressant is a medicine doctors give for depression — a mental illness that can make a person feel hopeless, empty, or unable to enjoy things for a long stretch, not just a sad week. The name says against depression, and that is the main job it was named for. Though actually doctors also use some of these medicines for anxiety, for looping unwanted thoughts, or for certain kinds of pain, so the tidy name is narrower than real use.
An antidepressant is a medicine doctors give for depressionAntidepressant是醫生開來治療depression（憂鬱症）的藥： a mental illness that can make a person feel hopeless, empty, or unable to enjoy things for a long stretch這是一種精神疾病，會讓人長時間感到絕望、空虛，或沒辦法享受事情 not just a sad week不只是難過一個星期而已 The name says against depression這個字名字就寫著「對抗憂鬱」 that is the main job it was named for這也是它被取名的主要用途 Though actually doctors also use some of these medicines for anxiety, for looping unwanted thoughts, or for certain kinds of pain不過醫生其實也會把這類藥用在焦慮、揮之不去的反覆念頭，或某些疼痛上 so the tidy name is narrower than real use所以這個整齊的名字其實比實際用途要窄
They are not sleeping pills, not calm-you-down drinks, and not a switch that turns a mood on the same day. They work slowly, often over a few weeks, by changing how chemical messengers in the brain are used.
They are not sleeping pills, not calm-you-down drinks它們不是安眠藥，不是讓你放鬆的飲品 and not a switch that turns a mood on the same day也不是當天就能切換心情的開關 They work slowly, often over a few weeks它們作用得很慢，通常要好幾個星期 by changing how chemical messengers in the brain are used靠改變大腦裡化學傳導物質的運作方式來發揮效果
Some people talk loosely about happy pills. That phrase is and : the medicine does not manufacture happiness, and it is not a one-swallow cure.
Some people talk loosely about happy pills有些人隨口說happy pills（快樂藥丸） That phrase is unkind and untrue這種說法既不厚道又不正確： the medicine does not manufacture happiness這種藥不會製造快樂 and it is not a one-swallow cure也不是吞一顆就好的萬靈丹
People may take it for a while and then stop with a doctor's help, or they may need it longer. That is a medical decision, not a moral one.
People may take it for a while and then stop with a doctor's help有些人可能吃一陣子，在醫生協助下停藥 or they may need it longer有些人則可能需要吃比較久 That is a medical decision, not a moral one這是醫療上的決定，不是道德上的評斷
組成anti- (against) + depressant (something that brings a person down). Built as a drug against that bringing-down of mood.
同家族的字
- depressionthe illness this medicine is named to treat
- depressthe older verb: to push down, or to make someone very low in mood
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
antidepressantnoun
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medicinepharmacologysciencesAn agent that prevents or counteracts depression.
- Some women with postpartum depression and thyroid imbalance may require antidepressants and psychiatric therapy.
- She had a history of depression and was taking phenelzine, an antidepressant.
antidepressantadj
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medicinepharmacologysciencesPreventing or counteracting depression.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。