repression

[ri-presh-uhn]

noun

1. the act of repressing; state of being repressed.

2. Psychology, Psychoanalysis.,  the rejection from consciousness of painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses.

   Freud's approach to interpreting early memories emphasizes what is forgotten through the mechanism of repression.

Other Word Forms

• nonrepression noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of repression¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English repressioun, from Medieval Latin repressiōn- (stem of repressiō ), Late Latin: “suppression”; repress, -ion

Example Sentences

Instead, in 1917-1921, we had totally craven state governments who rushed to pass their own versions of the federal law that was the cornerstone of the repression, the Espionage Act.

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“Where there is repression there is revival,” Long said.

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Human rights groups accuse them of systematic repression of peaceful critics with, according to the US state department's most recent assessment, "serious restrictions on freedom of expression" and an "environment of impunity."

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More than 200 civil society organisations said on Thursday they were "concerned about a military drift in the country's governance, rather than a search for appeasement and an end to repression".

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Kenya’s repression of dissent has raised concerns in Washington.

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Related Words

• oppression 
• suppression