Dictionary.com
definitions

repressive

[ ri-pres-iv ]
/ rɪˈprɛs ɪv /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repressive ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending or serving to repress: repressive laws.

RELATED CONTENT

Outcry And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.comInept was up 186% in searches this week . . . and this time it’s about somebody else’s dysfunctional government and leadership team. The Times helped us explain this one: “Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, and his deputy, Barnaby Joyce, traded extraordinary public barbs yesterday over an adulterous affair that has gripped the nation and fractured the government. Mr Turnbull said his deputy had ‘appalled everyone’ …
READ MORE
The Deep Web Vs. The Dark WebDeep web and dark web are so technical in nature that we came across a lot of confusion as to what they actually mean in our research. More tech-savvy publications generally have a disclaimer when discussing the dark web, pleading with their readers that this is not to be confused with the deep web, which is related, but not at all the same thing. So, what exactly are the dark web and the deep web, and why are technology reporters so wary when using either term?
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

coercive, restrictive, forbidding, governing, suppressive

Nearby words

  1. repress,
  2. repressed,
  3. represser,
  4. repressible enzyme,
  5. repression,
  6. repressively,
  7. repressor,
  8. repressor gene,
  9. reprieval,
  10. reprieve

Origin of repressive

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin repressīvus < Latin repress(us) (see repress) + -īvus -ive
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for repressive

British Dictionary definitions for repressive

repressive

/ (rɪˈprɛsɪv) /

adjective

acting to control, suppress, or restrain
subjecting people, a society, etc, to a state of subjugation
Derived Formsrepressively, adverbrepressiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for repressive

repressive

adj.

early 15c., from Middle French repressif, from Latin repress-, past participle stem of reprimere (see repress). Related: Repressively.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for repressive

repressive

[ rĭ-prĕs′ĭv ]

adj.

Causing or inclined to cause repression.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.