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decompensate

verb

  1. deteriorate, become unable to compensate for a deficiency
L1505728 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /diːˈkɒmpɛnseɪt/

verb

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.

  1. To deteriorate in function due to an inability to invoke normal defensive mechanisms that compensate for ailments and other stresses.

    The infant whose heart is decompensating has a rapid pulse, rapid respirations, and respiratory distress.

    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.