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

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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Uganda’s Idi Amin tried to use boxing and his image as a sportsman to build popularity and distract from his regime’s repression in the 1970s.

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Given the heightened tension in the strip and Hamas’s brutal repression of opposition, I knew what complying with the gunmen meant: I would be lucky to leave only with broken bones that night.

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Biya turned to a mix of repression, regional alliances and overtures to his former rivals to curtail threats to his rule, Arrey Ntui, the International Crisis Group's senior analyst for Cameroon, said.

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Related Words

• oppression 
• suppression