English

Adjective

bipolar ‎(comparative more bipolar, superlative most bipolar)

1. Involving or having both extremes or poles at the same time.
   • 1992, Paul Gilbert, Depression: The Evolution of Powerlessness,

     (4) the unipolar-bipolar distinction is important in regard to these personality variables; the trait of extraversion (associated as it is with positive affectivity) may mean that individual variation here leads to a more bipolar pattern; ...

   • 1997, David A. Lake, Patrick M. Morgan, Regional Orders: Building Security in a New World,

     Pakistan greatly resents this, but its efforts to adjust the complex have involved trying to make it more bipolar (via nuclear weapons), and not to move to another security order.

   • 2006, Leandro Herrero, The Leader with Seven Faces: finding your own ways to practice leadership in today's organization,

     And today, the world has become more and more bipolar.

2. Relating to both polar regions
3. (physics) Relating to a bipole
4. Relating to or having bipolar disorder.
   • 2005, Barbara E. Bryden, Sundial: Theoretical Relationships Between Psychological Type, Talent, and Disease,

     And in both visual artists and creative writers, there is a considerably higher risk of affective disorder, more unipolar (depression only) in artists, and more bipolar (mania and depression) in writers, and leading to higher rates of alcoholism and suicide, particularly in writers (Andreasen 1987; DeLong & Aldershof, 1988; Jamison, 1986, 1995).

   • 2005, Robert H. Coombs (editor), Family Therapy Review: Preparing for Comprehensive and Licensing Examinations,

     Since many childhood depressions become more bipolar in adult life, and because Jay's father was bipolar, I added Depakote to "protect" him against this bipolar possibility.

   • 2006, Jon P. Bloch, Jeffrey A. Naser, The everything health guide to adult bipolar disorder

     If a bipolar person you work with is receiving successful treatment, you might not even know that she is bipolar.

Related terms

• bipolarity
• multipolar
• unipolar

Translations

Noun

bipolar ‎(plural bipolars)

1. A bipolar cell.

Anagrams

• parboil

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bipolar/, [ˈb̥ipʰoˌlɑːˀ]

Adjective

bipolar

1. bipolar (involving two poles)

Inflection

Synonyms

• bipolær

Derived terms

German

Adjective

bipolar ‎(not comparable)

1. bipolar

Synonyms

• doppelpolig
• manisch-depressiv
• zweipolig

Declension

Portuguese

Adjective

bipolar m, f ‎(plural bipolares, comparable)

1. bipolar (involving both poles)
2. (psychiatry) bipolar (relating to or having bipolar disorder)

Spanish

Adjective

bipolar m, f ‎(plural bipolares)

1. bipolar

Related terms

• polo