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suppress

[suh-pres]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to put an end to the activities of (a person, body of persons, etc.): to suppress the Communist and certain left-leaning parties.
  2. to do away with by or as by authority; abolish; stop (a practice, custom, etc.).
  3. to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.).
  4. to withhold from disclosure or publication (truth, evidence, a book, names, etc.).
  5. to stop or arrest (a flow, hemorrhage, cough, etc.).
  6. to vanquish or subdue (a revolt, rebellion, etc.); quell; crush.
  7. Electricity. to reduce or eliminate (an irregular or undesired oscillation or frequency) in a circuit.
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Origin of suppress

1375–1425; late Middle English suppressen < Latin suppressus (past participle of supprimere to press down), equivalent to sup- sup- + pressus (see press1)
Related formssup·pressed·ly [suh-prest-lee, -pres-id-] /səˈprɛst li, -ˈprɛs ɪd-/, adverbsup·press·i·ble, adjectivesup·pres·sive, adjectivesup·pres·sive·ly, adverbsup·pres·sor, sup·press·er, nounnon·sup·pressed, adjectivenon·sup·pres·sive, adjectivenon·sup·pres·sive·ly, adverbnon·sup·pres·sive·ness, nounpre·sup·press, verb (used with object)qua·si-sup·pressed, adjectivere·sup·press, verb (used with object)self-sup·press·ing, adjectiveself-sup·pres·sive, adjectiveun·sup·pressed, adjectiveun·sup·press·i·ble, adjectiveun·sup·pres·sive, adjectivewell-sup·pressed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

subdue, quench, censor, curb, repress, muzzle, abolish, crush, quash, overthrow, overcome, quell, stifle, conceal, withhold, contain, silence, clamp, annihilate, muffle

Examples from the Web for suppressing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He did not dare express all his rancour, while he was unequal to suppressing it entirely.

    Homeward Bound

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • He hurried from the inn, suppressing his sobs for a moment with one grand effort.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

  • The captain, suppressing his emotions, hastily counted the money.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • "Ah, I see," said the Procurator General, suppressing a366 smile.

  • Need I suggest what was the need—the urgent need—for suppressing that wrapper?

    Mistress Wilding

    Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for suppressing

suppress

verb (tr)
  1. to put an end to; prohibit
  2. to hold in check; restrainI was obliged to suppress a smile
  3. to withhold from circulation or publicationto suppress seditious pamphlets
  4. to stop the activities of; crushto suppress a rebellion
  5. electronics
    1. to reduce or eliminate (unwanted oscillations) in a circuit
    2. to eliminate (a particular frequency or group of frequencies) in a signal
  6. psychiatry
    1. to resist consciously (an idea or a desire entering one's mind)
    2. to exercise self-control by preventing the expression of (certain desires)Compare repress (def. 3)
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Derived Formssuppresser, nounsuppressible, adjective

Word Origin

C14: from Latin suppressus held down, from supprimere to restrain, from sub- down + premere to press
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 suppressing

suppress

v.

late 14c., "to put down by force or authority," from Latin suppressus, past participle of supprimere "press down, stop, check, stifle," from sub "down, under" (see sub-) + premere "push against" (see press (v.1)). Sense of "prevent or prohibit the circulation of" is from 1550s. Related: Suppressed; suppressing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
suppressing in Medicine

suppress

(sə-prĕs′)
v.
  1. To curtail or inhibit the activity of something, such as the immune system.
  2. To deliberately exclude unacceptable desires or thoughts from the mind.
  3. To reduce the incidence or severity of a condition or symptom, such as a hemorrhage.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.