repress
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to keep under control, check, or suppress (desires, feelings, actions, tears, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to keep down or suppress (anything objectionable).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to put down or quell (sedition, disorder, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
to reduce (persons) to subjection.
- Synonyms:
- crush
- Antonyms:
- foster
-
Psychology, Psychoanalysis. to reject (painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses) from the conscious mind.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to keep (feelings, etc) under control; suppress or restrain
to repress a desire
-
to put into a state of subjugation
to repress a people
-
psychoanal to banish (thoughts and impulses that conflict with conventional standards of conduct) from one's conscious mind
Synonym Usage
See check 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonrepressiblenessnoun
-
repressernoun
-
overrepressverb (used with object)
-
nonrepressibleadjective
-
repressibleadjective
-
unrepressibleadjective
-
nonrepressiblyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
represssimple
-
repressessimple
-
have repressedperfect
-
has repressedperfect
-
am repressingprogressive
-
are repressingprogressive
-
is repressingprogressive
-
have been repressingperfect progressive
-
has been repressingperfect progressive
Past
-
repressedsimple
-
had repressedperfect
-
was repressingprogressive
-
were repressingprogressive
-
had been repressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of repress
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English repressen, from Latin repressus (past participle of reprimere ), equivalent to re- re- + pressus, past participle of premere “to exert steady force against, apply pressure to, press”; see press 1
Explanation
Whether you're repressing a feeling, an idea or even a revolution, you're almost always going to be taking advantage of the press in repress. To repress something is to "press it down" where it can't be seen, heard or even recognized. Psychologists often try to help people recover memories that they've repressed so that they can feel free of them once and for all. What makes repress different from press is that repress is almost always used when you're talking about an idea, concept or something intangible. In other words, you repress, say, your emotions. You don't repress olives to get olive oil. However, you can repress someone or some group by intimidating them — like repressing the protesters by sending out cops on horseback.
Vocabulary lists containing repress
The Emancipation Proclamation (1862)
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A Christmas Carol
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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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:
He backed a law paving the way for a state of emergency which would authorize military deployment to repress the movement and clear the blockades.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
It said it will be sanctioning multiple entities, individuals and vessels to “stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens.”
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
Among white Americans are committed segregationists who will repress regardless—and others who are uneasy about repression but uncertain about protesters’ aims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
“It’s just so emotional, and you try to repress it and try to move ahead and be thankful for what you do have,” Arline said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2025
As we will shortly see, we Sapiens have good reasons to repress the memory of our siblings.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Certain details of the scene are so grim she represses them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
An excitatory signal encourages communication between brain cells, whereas an inhibitory signal represses it, like the gas and brake pedals in a car.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023
The landlocked country borders China, which human rights groups say represses religious freedom.
From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2023
Film critic Robin Wood famously argued that "the true subject of the horror genre is the struggle for recognition of all that our civilization represses and oppresses."
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2023
“Let me put it, then, that entomology as a pursuit sternly represses frivolousness.”
From The Silent Barrier by Tracy, Louis
In the 1980s, Iraq's late ruler Saddam Hussein, who repressed the Shia population, went to war with the Islamic republic.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
You contextualize learned behavior; you contextualize trauma and things they learned that make them these repressed adults.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
Gadd explains he thought it was interesting to show the two repressed men living in Glasgow, a city that has gone through so much change.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
By convention, a Shiite Muslim has been prime minister since the fall of Saddam, who ruthlessly repressed the Shiite majority in Iraq.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
With a quiet motion, Calvin repressed the comment that was about to emerge from Kallner, and waited patiently.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
“We’re not making records that are just going to go sit on the shelf — these are records we’re continually repressing all the time anyway.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
And in January, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin recommended they "consider handling cases from the perspective of repressing human trafficking".
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
This strategy involves the central bank artificially repressing bond yields in the market.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 19, 2025
They argue that they cannot engage a government that has been repressing them as they demand basic human rights.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025
"Thanks," I said, repressing an impulse to call him down about the "brother" business.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
