suppressed

American  

[suh-prest] / səˈprɛst /

adjective

1. stopped or kept from carrying on normal activity.

   In the late 1700s, all members of the suppressed Jesuit Order flocked to Rome from other European countries where they were not tolerated.

2. kept in or repressed, as a laugh, feeling, thought, etc..

   I heard a suppressed giggle from under the bed.

3. withheld from disclosure or publication.

   There is a reasonable probability that the suppressed evidence would have produced a different verdict.

4. stopped or arrested, as a cough, bodily process, etc..

   Their study examines how viral therapy combined with a suppressed immune response could be more effective against solid tumors.

5. vanquished or subdued; quelled.

   Six casino workers were killed in a brutally suppressed strike.

6. done away with or abolished, by or as by authority.

   Generations later, descendants of the colonists have generally accepted the formerly suppressed practice of tattooing.

7. kept from being expressed genetically.

   The promise of reversing sickle cell disease symptoms by reactivating a suppressed gene has attracted considerable interest.

---

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of suppress.

Other Word Forms

• nonsuppressed
  adjective
• quasi-suppressed
  adjective
• suppressedly
  adverb
• unsuppressed
  adjective
• well-suppressed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of suppressed

suppress ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

If something is suppressed, it has been kept secret or forcibly restricted. You may hear rumors about a suppressed report on a politician's activities — it's kept secret, so you don't know the facts. It doesn't always take an outside force to make something suppressed — you can do it yourself. You might occasionally have a suppressed feeling of rage. (Psychiatrists, who are in the business of bringing such feelings to light, might frown on this.) Sometimes something that's suppressed is also oppressed — that is, harshly put down or brutally controlled, like a suppressed minority group. Both suppressed and oppressed come from the same Latin word, opprimere, meaning "to press against, or crush."

Example Sentences

“The evidence found during the search of the backpack at the McDonald’s must be suppressed, including the magazine, cellphone, passport, wallet and computer chip,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

The underlying damage remains, but the symptoms are temporarily suppressed.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

"But the wider effect is higher prices for imported food and especially fuel, suppressed legitimate fishing and potentially heavier external naval patrols that complicate ordinary maritime life," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

Other issues that keep demand suppressed are poor network planning and last-mile connectivity.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

Penelope suppressed a smile as she remembered her new acquaintance.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• barred
• blocked
• closed
• confined
• controlled
• defined
• deprived
• prescribed
• reduced
• restrained
• secured
• shortened
• tethered