pent-up

[ pent-uhp ]

adjective

1. not vented or expressed; held inside; restrained; curbed:

   pent-up emotions;

   pent-up rage.

   Synonyms: suppressed, repressed, confined

pent-up

adjective

1. not released; repressed

   pent-up emotions

2. kept unwillingly

   I've been pent up in this office for over a year

Word History and Origins

Origin of pent-up¹

First recorded in 1705–15; adjective use of verb phrase pent up

Example Sentences

In doing so he exposed the failure of other airlines in the region to see the huge pent-up demand for cheap travel.

From The Daily Beast

Many pent-up resentments and latent frustrations are boiling inside the Negro, and he must release them.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps so much so that he aroused whatever cruelty and anger and lunacy that Hernandez may have had pent up.

From The Daily Beast

Is it the Internet as an escape valve for decades of pent-up rebellion against political correctness?

From The Daily Beast

All that pent-up uncertainty—a “bonus,” by definition, is discretionary—creates paranoia pretty much all year.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps the words let loose the emotion, though of different kinds, pent up behind their silence.

From Project Gutenberg

It was when one of the table-legs overturned the swill-pail that the long pent-up storm burst in a torrent of invective.

From Project Gutenberg

Instead, therefore, of receiving her former lover with dangerous pent-up fires, Lilian now feels pity for him.

From Project Gutenberg

At last his pent-up affections gave way, and he sought his chamber and wept there in secret.

From Project Gutenberg

Another moment and he was in her arms, silent, speechless, with long arrears of pent-up emotion.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• repressed
• stifled
• suppressed

More About Pent-up

What does pent-up mean?

Pent-up is used to describe something that is repressed or not expressed, such as feelings, as in Tina had a lot of pent-up anger over her parents’ divorce that she did not know how to express.

Pent-up also describes something that has not been vented, like a gas, which causes pressure to build, as in Tremors release pent-up energy beneath the earth’s crust.

Example: All this pent-up anger is bad for your mental health.

Where does pent-up come from?

The first records of the term pent-up come from the early 1700s. It combines the adjective pent, meaning “contained or confined,” and the term up.

Usually, pent-up refers to emotional pressure or mental confinement. It comes from literal uses, such as describing pent-up gasses, liquids, or substances that might burst from their confinement. For example, if too much water is let into a dam’s well, the pent-up water can cause damage unless it is let out the other side.

Pent-up usually refers to negative emotions such as sadness or rage because people often avoid dealing with those feelings, so they stay with us. Connected to this figurative use of pent-up is the term vent. Pressure can literally be released using a vent, while figuratively, emotions can be released by venting, that is, sharing them with other people or otherwise expressing them.

Did you know … ?

What are some synonyms for pent-up?

• confined
• constrained
• repressed
• stifled
• suppressed

What are some words that share a root or word element with pent-up? 

• pen
• pent
• up

What are some words that often get used in discussing pent-up?

• anger
• emotion
• gas
• pressure

How is pent-up used in real life?  

Pent-up is usually associated with negative emotions or negative results from pressure buildup.

Difficult night's sleep; waking early and feeling pent-up; anybody would think there was a big game on today.

— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) February 23, 2019

Project landed.

Run in terror at the pent-up Tweetrage.

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) June 26, 2017

Seismologists have long feared a so-called “big one” in Western Nepal, where there is pent-up pressure from grinding tectonic plates. 1/2

— Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) April 25, 2015

 

 

Try using pent-up!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for pent-up?

A. repressed
B. released
C. stifled
D. suppressed