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
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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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undepressibleadjective
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overdepressverb (used with object)
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depressibleadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have depressedperfect
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has depressedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been depressingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am depressingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been depressingperfect progressive
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are depressingprogressive
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depressingparticiple
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is depressingprogressive 3rd person singular
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depressessingular 3rd person
Past
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had depressedperfect
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was depressingprogressive singular
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depressedsimple
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were depressingprogressive plural
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depressedparticiple
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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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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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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.
“These additional allowances would not only endanger our emissions targets, they would also flood the auction market and depress cap-and-invest revenues,” said Pam Odell of the group Climate Action California.
From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026
Crucially, the oil benchmark would likely creep higher than global oil prices, which would discourage foreign buyers, depress exports and make more crude available to domestic markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
That does sort of artificially depress the average personal saving rate.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
The new plants caused concerns that a supply glut was about to depress prices for the next two to five years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
“Maybe ... I mean, not to depress you or anything, but maybe he wrote them for someone else and mailed them—” “VAN HOUTEN!”
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
