bipolar disorder

/ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/

//ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ// noun

"bipolar-disorder" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bipolar disorder” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A psychiatric diagnostic category, previously called manic depression, characterised by mood swings between great energy (mania) and clinical depression.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bipolar-disorder · bipolar disorder · English

bipolar disorder · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for bipolar disorder
PropertyValue
Headwordbipolar disorder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bipolar disorder” in English

bipolar disorderfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bipolar disorder is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A psychiatric diagnostic category, previously called manic depression, characterised by mood swings between great energy (mania) and clinical depression.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for bipolar disorder in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is bipolar disorder, spelled B-I-P-O-L-A-R- -D-I-S-O-R-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A psychiatric diagnostic category, previously called manic depression, characterised by mood swings between great energy (mania) and clinical depression.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bipolar disorder appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. An open study comparing response to lamotrigine in patients with rapid-cycling versus non-rapid-cycling bipolar disorder also indicated efficacy, with some evidence that rapid-cycling patients with more severe manic symptoms at the start of treatment respod less well (367).
  2. It^([switching]) is a term frequently used with children with bipolar disorder who may experience switching of mood multiple times throughout the day.

Synonyms

bipolar affective disordermanic depressionschizomania

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bipolar disorder"?
"bipolar disorder" is spelled B-I-P-O-L-A-R- -D-I-S-O-R-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/.
What does "bipolar disorder" mean?
As a noun, "bipolar disorder" means: A psychiatric diagnostic category, previously called manic depression, characterised by mood swings between great energy (mania) and clinical depression.
How do you pronounce "bipolar disorder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bipolar disorder" is /ˌbaɪˈpoʊ.lɚ dɪˈsɔːr.dɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bipolar disorder" come from?
"bipolar disorder" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list