the act of depressing.the state of being depressed. a depressed or sunken place or part; an area lower than the surrounding surface. sadness; gloom; dejection. Psychiatry. a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.Compare clinical depression. dullness or inactivity, as of trade. Economics. a period during which business, employment, and stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity. the Depression. Great Depression. Pathology. a low state of vital powers or functional activity. Astronomy. the angular distance of a celestial body below the horizon; negative altitude. Surveying. the angle between the line from an observer or instrument to an object below either of them and a horizontal line. Physical Geography. an area completely or mostly surrounded by higher land, ordinarily having interior drainage and not conforming to the valley of a single stream. Meteorology. an area of low atmospheric pressure.
