depress
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
-
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
Related Words
See oppress.
Other Word Forms
- depressibility noun
- depressible adjective
- overdepress verb (used with object)
- undepressible adjective
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”); pressure
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.
Black male employment fell sharply and remained depressed for at least 10 years, and cities that experienced severe unrest lost population, capital and political leverage.
The Roundup litigation has dogged Bayer and depressed its stock price for nearly a decade.
This fiscal year is depressed, but we see a strong turnaround.
From Barron's
“It is the duration of a shock, not its magnitude, that structurally depresses valuations,” he says.
From Barron's
If mortgage rates continue to fall, that could draw more buyers to the housing market this year after a long stretch of depressed sales.
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.
