mood swings

USAGE SUMMARY

'mood swings' is correct and usable in written English.
It is often used to describe people who are prone to sudden changes in their emotions, especially in relation to mental health issues. For example, "John has been suffering from severe mood swings lately, which is causing a strain in his relationships with friends and family."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Wiki

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

Mama has mood swings.

The New York Times - Books

You have mood swings.

The New York Times - Arts

1) : "Violent mood swings?

The Guardian - Film

He wasn't talking mood swings.

The New York Times

M is for mood swings.

The Guardian

And host countries have mood swings.

The Economist

No headaches, sweats or wild mood swings".

Independent

I had mood swings and irrational outbursts.

Independent

You have to worry about mood swings.

The New Yorker

Mood swings do not make a nation.

The Economist

"They dealt with the mood swings, everything".

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair the phrase with verbs like 'experience', 'suffer from' or 'exhibit' to vary the sentence structure depending on the subject's agency.

Common error

Do not use the term as a synonym for specific clinical diagnoses like 'bipolar disorder' or 'cyclothymia' in formal writing. While "mood swings" describes a symptom or common human experience, it does not by itself denote a medical pathology unless specified by a professional.

Linguistic Context

In English grammar, "mood swings" functions as a plural noun phrase. It typically acts as the direct object of a sentence (e.g., "she experienced mood swings") or as the subject (e.g., "mood swings are normal during puberty"). As confirmed by Ludwig, it is highly versatile and fits into various syntactic positions.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

45%

Wiki

35%

Science

15%

Less common in

Formal & Business

3%

Social Media

1%

Reference

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "mood swings" is a highly established and effective term for describing emotional volatility. According to Ludwig AI, it is both correct and widely used across an impressive range of high-authority sources, from the cultural commentary of The New Yorker to specialized medical journals. Whether you are writing a clinical report or a character-driven novel, this phrase provides a clear and direct way to communicate changes in temperament. While it is often associated with mental health, its metaphorical use in fields like economics—describing market fluctuations—proves its adaptability in modern English prose.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

emotional fluctuations

Provides a more formal and rhythmic description of changing states.

rapid shifts in mood

Focuses specifically on the speed at which the changes occur.

mood instability

Emphasizes the lack of steadiness in a person's temperament.

emotional highs and lows

A more descriptive and idiomatic way to express extreme variations.

mood shifts

A simpler alternative that implies a movement from one state to another.

temperamental changes

Relates the shifts specifically to the person's inherent nature or personality.

emotional turbulence

Adds a dramatic or chaotic connotation to the emotional changes.

affective lability

The specific clinical and psychiatric term for rapid changes in mood.

psychological volatility

Suggests a potentially explosive or unpredictable emotional state.

erratic behavior

Broadens the scope to include the resulting actions rather than just the internal mood.

FAQs

What is a more formal synonym for "mood swings"?

A more formal or clinical synonym is "<a href="/s/affective+lability" target="_blank" rel="alternative">affective lability" or "<a href="/s/emotional+fluctuations" target="_blank" rel="alternative">emotional fluctuations".

How do you use "mood swings" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe a person's behavior, such as: "The medication's side effects included severe "<a href="/s/mood+swings" target="_blank" rel="alternative">mood swings" and fatigue."

Is there a difference between "mood swings" and "mood shifts"?

While often interchangeable, "<a href="/s/mood+shifts" target="_blank" rel="alternative">mood shifts" often implies a slower or more permanent change, whereas "mood swings" suggests a rapid back-and-forth motion between extremes.

Can "mood swings" be used for things other than people?

Yes, it can be used metaphorically for entities like markets or weather, as in: "The stock market is experiencing significant "<a href="/s/mood+swings" target="_blank" rel="alternative">mood swings" due to economic uncertainty."