Synonyms

suppress

American

[suh-pres] / səˈprɛs /

verb (used with object)

to put an end to the activities of (a person, body of persons, etc.).

to suppress the Communist and certain left-leaning parties.
to do away with by or as by authority; abolish; stop (a practice, custom, etc.).
to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.).
to withhold from disclosure or publication (truth, evidence, a book, names, etc.).
to stop or arrest (a flow, hemorrhage, cough, etc.).
to vanquish or subdue (a revolt, rebellion, etc.); quell; crush.
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.
Electricity. to reduce or eliminate (an irregular or undesired oscillation or frequency) in a circuit.

suppress British

/ səˈprɛs /

verb

to put an end to; prohibit
to hold in check; restrain

I was obliged to suppress a smile
to withhold from circulation or publication

to suppress seditious pamphlets
to stop the activities of; crush

to suppress a rebellion
electronics
1. to reduce or eliminate (unwanted oscillations) in a circuit
2. to eliminate (a particular frequency or group of frequencies) in a signal
psychiatry
1. to resist consciously (an idea or a desire entering one's mind)
2. to exercise self-control by preventing the expression of (certain desires) Compare repress

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of suppress

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 press ¹)

Explanation

To suppress something means to curb, inhibit, or even stop it. If the sound of your boss moving in his chair sounds like gas, you’re going to have to learn how to suppress your giggles. In the strictest sense, suppress means to put an end to something by force, like a government that suppresses the right to free speech by shutting down the newspapers or the military suppressing an uprising by rebel forces. But we also use suppress in less serious terms to describe an attempt to muffle or stifle something, such as suppressing a sneeze in a quiet theater or suppressing your true emotions to not cause a teary scene.

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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:

suppress suppresses suppressed suppressing

People do not become Olympic gold medalists because they suppress impulses all day long.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

These GLP-1 injections suppress people's appetites, causing them to feel fuller sooner - but are not suitable for everyone and can have side effects.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

When an acetyl tag is added to BCL6, the protein loses its ability to suppress the cell-death genes downstream from it.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

As the Supreme Court has held, the government may not “use the power of the State to punish or suppress disfavored expression.”

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

“But we’re going!” he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

As this wave makes it way over the Pacific, it suppresses the cold water that usually comes up from the deep ocean, making the surface temperature higher.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Warming suppresses upwelling — which normally allows colder, deeper and nutrient-rich ocean water to rise closer to the surface.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

An aging population and chronic economic anemia raise questions about whether Tokyo ever will repay the debt, a worry that all else being equal suppresses demand for Japanese assets and thus the yen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

In most cases, the combined effect actually suppresses the growth of cosmic structure.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

To my surprise, my brother suppresses his Erudite curiosity.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Inspired by the museum’s Soviet Hippie collection, an archive that documents the suppressed Soviet subculture of the 1960s through photos, clothing and memorabilia, the workshops use historical events as foundations for creative prompts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

After discovering his suppressed memories, Cramer began teaching meditation classes for others seeking to unlock the mysteries of the mind.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

The story of one of the most hard-fought battles in World War II-era China was suppressed for years afterward by Communist authorities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

"At the smallest spatial scales explored in the experiment, the production rate of J/ψ particles is significantly suppressed, with a statistical significance of about three standard deviations."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

I suppressed this impulse also, as it was even sillier than the first.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

We all know what it feels like, even children recognize the feeling of effort, the effort of suppressing impulses.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026

This had the effect of suppressing mortgage rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

For the X-59 it's about suppressing sonic booms on a budget and nothing else.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

When he began practicing urology in the 1980s, the common misunderstanding was that testosterone injections caused prostate cancer, further suppressing research and treatment of testosterone deficiency.

From Slate ● Sep. 13, 2026

I’m the one wasting energy, suppressing memories, words.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023