Meaning & use
mentation
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalmedical
The activity of the mind, meaning the processes of thinking and reasoning.
Grammar: No plural: his mentation was clear.
Patterns
- altered mentation
- clear mentation
The nurse checked the patient's mentation after the fall.
The elderly man showed normal mentation despite his fatigue.
Doctors noted slowed mentation after the fever.
nouncountable or uncountableformal
A particular type or pattern of thinking.
Grammar: A less common, more literary use, often with a modifying adjective.
Patterns
- a kind of mentation
The philosopher distinguished conscious mentation from dreaming.
Their mentation was shaped by long isolation.
He studied crowd mentation in times of panic.
Common combinations
- altered mentation
- The ambulance crew reported altered mentation.
- normal mentation
- The scan showed normal mentation.
- impaired mentation
- Dehydration can cause impaired mentation.
- clouded mentation
- Exhaustion left her with clouded mentation.
- mental status and mentation
- The note recorded the patient's mental status and mentation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cognition
- Cognition is the standard scientific term for thinking and understanding, while mentation is a more clinical, older-sounding word.
- thinking
- Thinking is everyday language, whereas mentation is used in medical notes.
- mental activity
- Mental activity is a plain phrase for the same idea, without the technical tone.
Word family
Commonly confused: mentation or mention?
mentation vs mention
Mention means to refer to something briefly, while mentation is the process of thinking; the spellings are close but unrelated.
Practice
A doctor writes 'altered mentation'. What does this describe?
Choose one answer.
Mentation refers to thinking, so altered mentation means changed mental functioning. The others describe different parts of the body.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mentation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.