Mental Disease - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition mental-disease

mental disease

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: an abnormal mental condition that interferes with mental or emotional processes and internal behavioral control and that is not manifest only in repeated criminal or antisocial conduct
;broadly
: mental illness NOTE: Mental disease and mental illness are in general use synonymous, but mental disease has developed a settled meaning in criminal law while mental illness is often explained or defined by reference to the medical community's understanding of the term.