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
-
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.
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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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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:
A federal judge ordered an end to practices that depress ad rates for web publishers, but declined to order a divestiture of Google’s ad exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
The fact that they’re not spending as much maintaining their properties may depress their values, but it also keeps their expenses low.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The U.S. could run a big trade deficit in the second quarter, and large trade gaps depress GDP.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Wall Street analysts have said they expect the outbreak to measurably depress Taco Bell’s U.S. sales in the short term.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It didn't exactly depress me to think about it, but it didn't make me feel gay as hell, either.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
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
“Naw,” he said, “that’s a loser’s song. Nothing depresses me more than a loser’s song. Let’s sing something else.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Another protester, who gave her name only as Alice, told AFP that the result has left her feeling "depressed".
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
He and local business owners hope the sailors will boost the economy at a time when the war in Iran has pushed up the cost of air travel and depressed foreign tourism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
"She started to lose a lot of weight, and she became very depressed, and she was having a really hard time," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the downtown area was economically depressed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
And as Schmid depressed the button, a wave of nostalgia rolled over everyone watching.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
While higher borrowing costs typically help tackle inflation by depressing demand in an economy, observers argue it won't do much to blunt the impacts of the current oil supply shock.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said it was a "depressing" situation.
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
Like the billionaire geniuses who created social media that wound up depressing, dumbing down and dehumanizing civilization, the motives of these companies were purely financial.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
She knew, though, that any such admission would have a depressing effect on Dad, who took it for granted that his children had talent for everything.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
