irrepressible

[ir-i-pres-uh-buh l]

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adjective

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

Origin of irrepressible

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

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for irrepressible

buoyant, boisterous, rebellious, ebullient, bubbling, enthusiastic, uncontrollable, unmanageable, unrestrained, unruly, unconstrained, insuppressible, rhapsodical, uncontainable, unquenchable, unrestrainable, unstoppable

Examples from the Web for irrepressible

Contemporary Examples of irrepressible

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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of irrepressible

The irrepressible Aggie put on her most finically elegant air.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
It had within it a vital and irrepressible element of growth.
The Nation in a Nutshell
George Makepeace Towle
Again came the irrepressible chorus, "Aye, that 'e did, sor!"
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Before the sentence was well finished her laughter was irrepressible.
Graham's Magazine Vol. XXXII No. 2. February 1848
Various
And then the irrepressible, overwhelming, inevitable moment came.
The Woman Thou Gavest Me
Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for irrepressible

irrepressible

adjective

not capable of being repressed, controlled, or restrained

Derived Formsirrepressibility 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

Word Origin and History for irrepressible

adj.

1767, from assimilated form of in- (1) "not, opposite of" + repressible (see repress).

Increase of population, which is filling the States out to their very borders, together with a new and extended network of railroads and other avenues, and an internal commerce which daily becomes more intimate, is rapidly bringing the States into a higher and more perfect social unity or consolidation. Thus, these antagonistic systems are continually coming into closer contact, and collision results.

Shall I tell you what this collision means? They who think that it is accidental, unnecessary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and therefor ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slaveholding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation. [William H. Seward, speech at Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2, 1858]

Related: Irrepressibly.