Dictionary

decompensate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /diːˈkɒmpɛnseɪt/ (UK)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- English compensate English decompensate From de- + compensate.

Meanings

1. (of a bodily organ or mental state) To deteriorate in function due to an inability to invoke normal defensive mechanisms that compensate for ailments and other stresses.
   • In some cases, the fragile individual, overwhelmed by the implicit demands and expectations for sociability, coherence, and "constructive" behavior, rapidly decompensates, taking flight into psychosis or protective withdrawal. 1983, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, “A Proposal for the Aftercare of Chronic Psychiatric Patients”, in Medical Anthropology Quarterly, volume 14, number 2, pages 11–12:
   • The infant whose heart is decompensating has a rapid pulse, rapid respirations, and respiratory distress. 1967, Virginia Pidgeon, “The Infant with Congenital Heart Disease”, in The American Journal of Nursing, volume 67, number 2, page 291:

Forms

Relateds

decompensation