repress
Americanverb (used with object)
-
represses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repressed,
past participle, past
-
repressing
present participle
-
to keep under control, check, or suppress (desires, feelings, actions, tears, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to keep down or suppress (anything objectionable).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to put down or quell (sedition, disorder, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to reduce (persons) to subjection.
- Synonyms:
- crush
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
Psychology, Psychoanalysis. to reject (painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses) from the conscious mind.
verb (used without object)
-
represses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
repressed,
past participle, past
-
repressing
present participle
verb
-
to keep (feelings, etc) under control; suppress or restrain
to repress a desire
-
to put into a state of subjugation
to repress a people
-
psychoanal to banish (thoughts and impulses that conflict with conventional standards of conduct) from one's conscious mind
Synonym Usage
See check 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonrepressiblenessnoun
-
repressernoun
-
overrepressverb (used with object)
-
nonrepressibleadjective
-
repressibleadjective
-
unrepressibleadjective
-
nonrepressiblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
represssimple
-
repressessimple
-
have repressedperfect
-
has repressedperfect
-
am repressingprogressive
-
are repressingprogressive
-
is repressingprogressive
-
have been repressingperfect progressive
-
has been repressingperfect progressive
Past
-
repressedsimple
-
had repressedperfect
-
was repressingprogressive
-
were repressingprogressive
-
had been repressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repress
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English repressen, from Latin repressus (past participle of reprimere ), equivalent to re- re- + pressus, past participle of premere “to exert steady force against, apply pressure to, press”; see press 1
Explanation
Whether you're repressing a feeling, an idea or even a revolution, you're almost always going to be taking advantage of the press in repress. To repress something is to "press it down" where it can't be seen, heard or even recognized. Psychologists often try to help people recover memories that they've repressed so that they can feel free of them once and for all. What makes repress different from press is that repress is almost always used when you're talking about an idea, concept or something intangible. In other words, you repress, say, your emotions. You don't repress olives to get olive oil. However, you can repress someone or some group by intimidating them — like repressing the protesters by sending out cops on horseback.
Vocabulary lists containing repress
The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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A Christmas Carol
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“They have to repress themselves. So they want others to be repressed as well. ‘How dare you live outside of this box and have freedom of choice and a comfortable, fun, beautiful life?”
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
They also tend to repress their emotions, which he said has "many negative effects, not only on the mind but also on the body."
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
In response, governments have resorted to interventions to repress demand, such as rationing, issuing Covid-era like directives to work from home, and giving some domestic consumers priority over others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
The character tends to repress her feelings, and her initial reaction to John’s death is stoic and reserved.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
He thought of Wednesday’s comment and smiled, despite himself: Shadow had heard too many people telling each other not to repress their feelings, to let their emotions out, let the pain go.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Certain details of the scene are so grim she represses them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Dubbed GENtoniK, the chemical cocktail both represses epigenetic factors that inhibit cell maturation and stimulates factors that promote it.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2024
The landlocked country borders China, which human rights groups say represses religious freedom.
From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2023
It is a totalizing system that represses human agency and offers no escape: We are “like butterflies, pinned live and wriggling onto history’s collage.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
Joan Darc, overwhelmed with terror, has fallen back upon the straw and represses her sobs.
From The Executioner's Knife Or Joan of Arc by Eug?ne Sue
“They have to repress themselves. So they want others to be repressed as well. ‘How dare you live outside of this box and have freedom of choice and a comfortable, fun, beautiful life?”
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
In the 1980s, Iraq's late ruler Saddam Hussein, who repressed the Shia population, went to war with the Islamic republic.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
It has also sent Daphne into her memories, some of them long repressed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Niki’s musical genius is frequently alluded to, dreams deferred by his hearing disorder, and Woodall physically communicates that repressed frustration.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
He summoned his reserves of persuasion, his broad and repressed tenderness, ready to give up for Amaranta a glory that had cost him the sacrifice of his best years.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“We’re not making records that are just going to go sit on the shelf — these are records we’re continually repressing all the time anyway.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
This strategy involves the central bank artificially repressing bond yields in the market.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 19, 2025
Beijing has been accused for years of repressing the Muslim Uyghur minority in the province, which borders Kazakhstan.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
They also exaggerate the fear that is already there, especially in characters repressing their inner demons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
My entrance had undone his work of appeasing Laertes, and his face twitched with the effort of repressing his anger.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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