repression

[ ri-presh-uhn ]
See synonyms for repression on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of repression

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English repressioun, from Medieval Latin repressiōn- (stem of repressiō ), Late Latin: “suppression”; see repress, -ion

Other words from repression

  • non·re·pres·sion, noun

Words Nearby repression

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use repression in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for repression

repression

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 (def. 2)

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