repression

American  

[ri-presh-uhn] / rɪˈprɛʃ ən /

noun

• repressions
  plural

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.

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repression British  

noun

1. the act or process of repressing or the condition of being repressed

2. psychoanal the subconscious rejection of thoughts and impulses that conflict with conventional standards of conduct See suppression

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonrepression
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• repressions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of repression

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

Explanation

Repression is a kind of holding back or holding down. There's repression of feelings (willing yourself not to cry), as well as social repression (where the government limits freedom or shuts out certain groups). Repression is like suppression: you restrain, inhibit, or subdue something. Not allowing women to vote is a perfect example of political repression. If you have trouble expressing your feelings and keep things bottled up, then emotional repression is a big part of your personality. People often turn to repression because they're scared of what will happen if they say what's on their mind. Unfortunately, political and emotional repression can often lead to anger and even violence.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

repression repressions

Crowds of teenagers marched from the Place de la République in Paris, calling for more resources for schools, and what they called less repression from police.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Lai's office confirmed Zhang's actions had targeted the president's family and said it was a case of "transnational repression."

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

Bianco thinks the era of financial repression has given investors a distorted view of what returns they should expect from stocks and bonds.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The European Union parliament's rapporteur on Turkey condemned the arrests as "a shocking escalation in the repression" in the country Turkey.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

Like most Bengalis, my parents had elevated repression and denial to a high art form, but even so, questions about this particular history were unavoidable.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

His later conviction marked a hardening of repressions against opponents of the war.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024

All over the country, people are laying flowers at memorials to Soviet repressions.

From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2024

“The repressions have destroyed procedural and professional guarantees for lawyers’ activities, resulting in the effective destruction of legal defense in the country.”

From Washington Times ● Jun. 18, 2023

Memorial runs a database of victims of political repressions, and among the names are three people who were convicted in Soviet times over collaboration with Nazi Germany.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 21, 2023

By disparagement, by starvation, by repressions, forced direction, and the stunning hammerblows of conditioning, the free, roving mind is being pursued, roped, blunted, drugged.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• oppression
• suppression