repressive
Americanadjective
adjective
-
acting to control, suppress, or restrain
-
subjecting people, a society, etc, to a state of subjugation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of repressive
1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin repressīvus < Latin repress ( us ) ( see repress) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Repressive things keep people from doing or saying what they want. Repressive controls on the press don't allow journalists to freely report the news. It's almost always a government, or a political or social system, that acts in a repressive way. When police officers don't let citizens videotape arrests, or a society doesn't allow girls to attend school, it's repressive. Someone growing up in a repressive family might feel cautious about saying or doing the wrong things. The adjective repressive comes from the Latin root repressus, "held back or curbed," and also "checked or restrained."
Vocabulary lists containing repressive
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Repressive law enforcement" was carried out a few years ago against loggers and furnace owners in Batu Ampar village, says an official with the local government, Herbimo Utoyo.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2023
Repressive control, typified by the trp operon, uses proteins bound to the operator sequence to physically prevent the binding of RNA polymerase and the activation of transcription.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
"Repressive laws are still in force that are arbitrarily applied frequently against opponents, activists and independent journalists, such as home confinement and the prohibition of leaving the country," she wrote.
From Reuters • Oct. 28, 2021
Repressive forms of education no longer exist on the margins of society, nor are they present in only public and higher education.
From Salon • Oct. 24, 2021
Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of “wrong” ideas.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
