suppress

[ suh-pres ]
See synonyms for suppress on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to put an end to the activities of (a person, body of persons, etc.): to suppress the Communist and certain left-leaning parties.

  2. to do away with by or as by authority; abolish; stop (a practice, custom, etc.).

  1. to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.).

  2. to withhold from disclosure or publication (truth, evidence, a book, names, etc.).

  3. to stop or arrest (a flow, hemorrhage, cough, etc.).

  4. to vanquish or subdue (a revolt, rebellion, etc.); quell; crush.

  5. Genetics. to keep (a gene) from being expressed: Let's say that future genetic engineers discover a gene for suicidal depression, and learn how to suppress the gene or adjust it.

  6. Electricity. to reduce or eliminate (an irregular or undesired oscillation or frequency) in a circuit.

Origin of suppress

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English suppressen, from Latin suppressus (past participle of supprimere “to press down”), equivalent to sup- sup- + pressus (see press1)

Other words from suppress

  • sup·press·i·ble, adjective
  • sup·pres·sive, adjective
  • sup·pres·sive·ly, adverb
  • sup·pres·sor, sup·press·er, noun
  • non·sup·pres·sive, adjective
  • non·sup·pres·sive·ly, adverb
  • non·sup·pres·sive·ness, noun
  • pre·sup·press, verb (used with object)
  • re·sup·press, verb (used with object)
  • self-sup·press·ing, adjective
  • self-sup·pres·sive, adjective
  • un·sup·press·i·ble, adjective
  • un·sup·pres·sive, adjective

Words Nearby suppress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use suppress in a sentence

  • I do not know how things are in America but in England there has been a ridiculous attempt to suppress Bolshevik propaganda.

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
  • A cry I was quite unable to suppress escaped me, and the creature turned on the instant and stared at me with baleful eyes.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • I cannot suppress the sharp reply that springs to my lips: "The low servant girl is as good as you."

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • I could die now, but they would suppress my explanation, and the People thus remain ignorant of my aim and purpose.

    Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
  • suppress with a single blow all the poetry in verse, or else speak with esteem of those who possess the secrets.

    Charles Baudelaire, His Life | Thophile Gautier

British Dictionary definitions for suppress

suppress

/ (səˈprɛs) /


verb(tr)
  1. to put an end to; prohibit

  2. to hold in check; restrain: I was obliged to suppress a smile

  1. to withhold from circulation or publication: to suppress seditious pamphlets

  2. to stop the activities of; crush: to suppress a rebellion

  3. electronics

    • to reduce or eliminate (unwanted oscillations) in a circuit

    • to eliminate (a particular frequency or group of frequencies) in a signal

  4. psychiatry

    • to resist consciously (an idea or a desire entering one's mind)

    • to exercise self-control by preventing the expression of (certain desires): Compare repress (def. 3)

Origin of suppress

1
C14: from Latin suppressus held down, from supprimere to restrain, from sub- down + premere to press

Derived forms of suppress

  • suppresser, noun
  • suppressible, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012