Mental

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -É›ntÉ™l

Origin

From Middle French mental, from Late Latin mentālis ("of the mind, mental"), from Latin mēns ("the mind"). Also from Latin mentum ("the chin"), depending on usage.

Full definition of mental

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the mind or an intellectual process.
• 1907, w, The Younger Set Chapter 6, “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 speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, … !”
• 2013-07-19, Ian Sample, Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains, 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.
2. (colloquial, comparable) Insane, mad, crazy.
   he is the most mental freshman I've seen yet;  he went mental on us
3. (colloquial, UK, comparable) Enjoyable; fun.
   That was a mental party last night.
4. (anatomy) Of or relating to the chin or median part of the lower jaw, genial.
   the mental nerve;  the mental region
5. (biology) Of or relating to the chin-like or lip-like structure.

Synonyms

• genial (in the sense referring to the chin)
• genian (in the sense referring to the chin)

Derived terms

• extramental
• intermental
• intramental
• mentalese
• mentalist
• mentality
• mentally
• mental age
• mental block
• mental disease
• mental home
• mental patient

Noun

1. (zoology) A plate or scale covering the mentum or chin of a fish or reptile.

Anagrams

• lament, Lament., malent, mantel, mantle