depress
Americanverb (used with object)
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depresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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depressed,
past participle, past
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depressing
present participle
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to make sad or gloomy; lower in spirits; deject; dispirit.
- Synonyms:
- sadden, discourage, dishearten
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to lower in force, vigor, activity, etc.; weaken; make dull.
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to lower in amount or value.
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to put into a lower position.
to depress the muzzle of a gun.
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to press down.
-
Music. to lower in pitch.
verb
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to lower in spirits; make gloomy; deject
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to weaken or lower the force, vigour, or energy of
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to lower prices of (securities or a security market)
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to press or push down
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to lower the pitch of (a musical sound)
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obsolete to suppress or subjugate
Synonym Usage
See oppress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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depressibilitynoun
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overdepressverb (used with object)
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depressibleadjective
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undepressibleadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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depresssimple
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depressessimple
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have depressedperfect
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has depressedperfect
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am depressingprogressive
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are depressingprogressive
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is depressingprogressive
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have been depressingperfect progressive
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has been depressingperfect progressive
Past
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depressedsimple
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had depressedperfect
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was depressingprogressive
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were depressingprogressive
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had been depressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depress
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English depressen, from Anglo-French, Old French depresser, from Latin dēpressus “pressed down” (past participle of dēprimere, equivalent to de- de- + -primere, combining form of premere “to press”); see pressure
Explanation
Depress means to lessen the activity or power of something. If you want to depress the spread of poverty, you need to find ways to slow it down, like by bringing education and skill-building resources into the poorest communities. The word depress comes from the Old French word depresser, meaning "put down by force." Depress can be used literally to describe something you push down, like when you depress the handle on a toaster to lower the bread. It can also describe a more figurative lowering, such as the lowering of a person's emotional state. Attending a funeral is likely to depress you, and watching a sad movie afterwards will just sink your spirits even more.
Vocabulary lists containing depress
Hatchet
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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:
But the nonvirtuous road, Smith warns, risks ruin: “habitual imprudence . . . or injustice, or weakness, or profligacy, will always cloud, and sometimes depress altogether, the most splendid professional abilities.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Conventional wisdom suggests such discouraging numbers would depress turnout.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
A federal judge ordered an end to practices that depress ad rates for web publishers, but declined to order a divestiture of Google’s ad exchange and other technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
For those who have not been identified, negative feedback from adults and peers can further depress self-esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
“Your polar bear facts are really starting to depress me.”
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Too much money chasing the same opportunity set depresses returns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
"As a former police detective, it depresses me to see the state of crime and policing in our capital," Newman said.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
In the macro economy, uncertainty depresses economic activity, increases stock market volatility and reduces returns.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
“It is the duration of a shock, not its magnitude, that structurally depresses valuations,” he says.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
“Get that damned rat away from me. This place depresses me enough. Get on the phone and make my hotel reservations for the Derby.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Britain’s Channel Four network found one man who’d been trying, unsuccessfully, to get himself off PIP for three years, saying he was no longer depressed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
"It's understandable because GPs are often confronted with depressed patients and therefore they're very focused on diagnosing depression correctly," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
However, the forecast predicts that AI investment will begin to produce job gains next year and in 2028, even as the cuts have depressed California’s jobs picture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Mortgage rates surged to roughly a three-year high, a fresh setback for an already depressed housing market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Mom was sick like this before. She was depressed before.”
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
People are facing a "painful" and "depressing" few years ahead, economic think tanks have warned, after forecasts showed growth in living standards grinding almost to a halt.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Financial Times headlines on a story about a drop in sales for European luxury goods as demand from Chinese consumers eases, adding that "AI-driven stock wobbles" is also depressing demand.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The pass/fail ratio is both depressing and mildly surprising.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
"You know, Coldplay still exists. It's, like, well depressing."
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
Should I call and face the problem or not call and enjoy a few hours of lonely, nerve-wracking boredom, instead of my usual lonely, depressing boredom?
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
