repressive

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

adjective

tending or serving to repress: repressive laws.

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Origin of repressive

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin repressīvus < Latin repress(us) (see repress) + -īvus -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM repressive

Words nearby repressive

repress, repressed, represser, repressible enzyme, repression, repressive, repressor, repressor gene, reprieval, reprieve, reprimand
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to repressive

coercive, restrictive, forbidding, governing, suppressive

Example sentences 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 forms of repressive

repressively, 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

Medical 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.