depressing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of depressing
Explanation
Depressing things make you feel sad or inadequate, possibly because they serve as reminders of weaknesses or defects. For example, it can be depressing to be around a happy family when all your relatives are fighting with each other. If a friend acts as if something is depressing him, you might ask, "What's bringing you down?" In fact depress comes from the Latin word depremere, meaning "to press down." Depressing things make you feel like your spirits are low or your heart is heavy. Something depressing weighs you down, just as something happy tends to boost you or make you feel like you are flying high.
Vocabulary lists containing depressing
The Dead and the Gone
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Better Nate Than Ever
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Louder than Hunger
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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.
Like “The Man in the High Castle” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” before it, our depressing reality erased the distance between us and its fantasy.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
It looked like an especially depressing way to spend an afternoon surrounded by some of the most celebrated natural wonders on Earth.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
The Bank of Japan’s prime rate remains at 0.75%, depressing bond yields that might suck more capital in.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
“It was kind of a depressing place. It wasn’t the beautiful place that it was before. It just needed flowers and life in it again,” he said.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
Then I burp and say, “That sounds like a really depressing song.”
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
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.
