irrepressible

[ ir-i-pres-uh-buhl ]

/ ˌɪr ɪˈprɛs ə bəl /

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adjective

incapable of being repressed or restrained; uncontrollable: irrepressible laughter.

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Origin of irrepressible

First recorded in 1805–15; ir-² + repressible

OTHER WORDS FROM irrepressible

ir·re·press·i·bil·i·ty, ir·re·press·i·ble·ness, nounir·re·press·i·bly, adverb

Words nearby irrepressible

irrepealable, irreplaceable, irrepleviable, irreplevisable, irreprehensible, irrepressible, irreproachable, irreproducible, irresistible, irresoluble, irresolute

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use irrepressible in a sentence

The next day I met with my colleagues, a team of Ukrainian journalists lead by the irrepressible Natalia Gumenyuk, in Kyiv’s only open restaurant.
Ukraine Is Our Past and Our Future|Peter Pomerantsev|April 6, 2022|Time
Based on the audience reaction, unchecked glee, it’s likely that this irrepressible pair will eventually reunite.
The 10 Best Theater Performances of 2021|Eben Shapiro|December 17, 2021|Time
He’s young, so young his grandmother calls the mustache forming on his upper lip “dirt,” and he maintains an irrepressible smile full of green braces, even though the underlying event here—Arbery’s death—is grim.
What Ahmaud Arbery’s Death Has Meant for the Place Where He Lived|Janell Ross/Brunswick, Ga.|November 24, 2021|Time
The exhibition, organized by curator Molly Donovan and drawing heavily on works donated by the irrepressible collectors Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, was lightly traveled when I saw it earlier this month.
Artist Lynda Benglis became controversial in an instant, but her career has thrived for decades|Philip Kennicott|August 26, 2021|Washington Post

My Unorthodox Life, whose nine-episode first season just arrived on the service, is yet another story of an irrepressible woman escaping her ultra-Orthodox prison.
Netflix’s My Unorthodox Life Is More Bravo Docusoap Than Real-Life Unorthodox|Judy Berman|July 14, 2021|Time
Suppressed, banned, scorned—it seems to speak to something within the human mind (or soul, if you like) that is irrepressible.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa|Jay Michaelson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From a production standpoint, most of Napa has been lucky and irrepressible in the aftermath.
Cleaning Up From Napa's Winepocalypse|Jordan Salcito|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was grounded for a few days, but fortunately for us, and for politics, his irrepressible good humor could not be squelched.
Jim Brady, Reagan’s Gentle ‘Bear’ Who Roared Back to Life After Being Shot|Eleanor Clift|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then Germany scored first, in the 11th minute, through the irrepressible Thomas Müller.
Germany Humiliates World Cup Host Brazil 7-1 in Semifinal Slaughter|Tunku Varadarajan|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And now all of a sudden I find myself consumed by an immense, irrepressible wrath.
Just Kill Mr. Bates Already! How to Save ‘Downton Abbey’|Andrew Romano|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thus was he spared the look of utter loathing, of unconquerable, irrepressible disgust that leapt into her countenance.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
It was Jenny's sympathy on this first night, when awakened by Ruth's irrepressible agony, that had made the bond between them.
Ruth|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
She had an irrepressible longing for a few minutes' change of scene after her night of watching.
Ruth|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Prince Waldemar broke into an irrepressible fit of laughter and clapped Kaulmann on the shoulder.
Black Diamonds|Mr Jkai
That struggle is an irrepressible conflict existing in all nature, and from which man cannot escape.
The Inhumanity of Socialism|Edward F. Adams

British Dictionary definitions for irrepressible

irrepressible

/ (ˌɪrɪˈprɛsəbəl) /

adjective

not capable of being repressed, controlled, or restrained

Derived forms of irrepressible

irrepressibility or irrepressibleness, nounirrepressibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

irrepressible

Origin of irrepressible

OTHER WORDS FROM irrepressible

Words nearby irrepressible

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How to use irrepressible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for irrepressible

Derived forms of irrepressible