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
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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.
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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
-
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:
The run-up in bond yields is also likely to depress economic activity by making borrowing more expensive for businesses, governments and consumers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Authors of books with Jewish or Israeli characters say their titles are “review bombed” with 1-star on sites like Goodreads to depress interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
For those who have not been identified, negative feedback from adults and peers can further depress self-esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
A sharp drop in gas prices in the first half of the month will depress the headline increase in the CPI.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The office was already beginning to depress him.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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 depresses me and makes me feel guilty, even though I told him not to hold back.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
"At first he was depressed," he says, "but we gave him toys to play with and his mood is gradually lifting."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
However, the forecast predicts that AI investment will begin to produce job gains next year and in 2028, even as the cuts have depressed California’s jobs picture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The funny thing is, it doesn’t just make you depressed about plastic surgery and sad women and sleazy TV executives.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Back then, depressed share prices gave these serial buyers of their own stock extra bang for the buck.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Besides, Marlena thinks Boaz is getting depressed at being left by himself in the menagerie while the others perform.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Wednesday’s incident comes as the wider Emirati economy is already under pressure this year, with the war disrupting oil exports and depressing tourism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Job losses and falling purchasing power have added to industry's woes by depressing consumer spending.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 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
It must actually be quite a depressing moment—to have slogged through a mountainous wilderness for ten or eleven weeks and to realize that for all that effort you are still but halfway there.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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