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.
-
to lower in amount or value.
-
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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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:
The U.S. could run a big trade deficit in the second quarter, and large trade gaps depress GDP.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
“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
The United Arab Emirates’ departure, won’t change oil prices in the short term but is likely to depress them long-term.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
He had seen the pilot use it, had seen him depress the switch at his belt, so Brian pushed the switch in and blew into the mike.
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
Extreme heat depresses economic activity by restricting work and disrupting transport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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
“This kind of conversation depresses me more than you could possibly imagine,” the young man told him.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Even if disrupted flows through both straits fall another 4 million barrels a day from current levels, the market can sidestep an acute shortage as long as “demand stays close to today’s depressed levels.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Rising rates and this depressed investor sentiment have compressed the price-to-book ratio to 1.7 times.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
CBS News, historically cautious about any endeavors that could tarnish its legacy as a journalism organization, was the last of the traditional networks to get into e-commerce in 2022 after COVID-19 lockdowns depressed ad revenues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
He told me before playing Pokémon Go it was "nearly impossible" to motivate himself to do anything, as he was feeling very anxious and depressed about life.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
She told us that Marlene needed her to be there with her as much as possible, that she had been off her food and depressed ever since her mother had died.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
What’s most depressing about all these stories is that they pointedly highlight the problem with contemporary American media.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
“It’s both depressing and also hopeful. If you are a middle manager, you have a lot of power to shape the experience of people on your team.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Still, it’s easy to be won over by the album’s passionate commitment and range, how it manages to be depressing and uplifting in equal measure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Bloomberg article on potential Starlink/Charter link appears to be depressing telecom stocks Monday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
And that’s right, that’s right—God knows it’s depressing.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
