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.
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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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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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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:
Authors of books with Jewish or Israeli characters say their titles are “review bombed” with 1-star on sites like Goodreads to depress interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
This could depress demand, buying the EU a little more time to wait for LNG flows to return to normal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 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
The trade deficit, what’s more, is unlikely to depress GDP in the third quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
My mom and I sat in the backseat as Mr. Mason, from the passenger side, took my dad through the gears, telling him when to depress the clutch and when to let it go.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
By funneling income and investment toward export industries and away from consumers, this depresses consumption and expands the current account surplus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 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
Jonny's prediction: It depresses me how good Sunderland are this season.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025
It depresses me even to think about it.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
During his trial, the court heard he became increasingly depressed and anxious living alone in a flat without windows.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
"There's a sizeable market to conquer," said Versloot, who was brought in just over a year ago to turn around BIC's fortunes after years of depressed sales.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Some economists say the August employment report could be depressed if large numbers of Haitian workers are no longer at their jobs.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the downtown area was economically depressed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The word depressed felt funny coming out of my mouth.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
Job losses and falling purchasing power have added to industry's woes by depressing consumer spending.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The latest worldwide testing results are just as depressing as the ones conducted only in the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
One resident described the situation in Coedpoeth as "depressing"
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Then on Friday, I typically work from home because nobody’s in the office, and it’s depressing when there’s nobody there.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
It was depressing to be in that room, so I was glad when his mother called, “Boys! Dinner! Come and get it!”
From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
