Repress

Pronunciation: /rɪˈprɛs/

Definitions of repress

verb to restrain, prevent, or inhibit something from happening or expressing

Example Sentences

A1 She tried to repress her laughter during the serious meeting.

A2 He often represses his emotions and doesn't show how he truly feels.

B1 The government tried to repress the protests by banning public gatherings.

B2 The memories of the traumatic event were repressed in her mind for years.

C1 The dictator's regime repressed any form of dissent with brutal force.

C2 She had to undergo therapy to address the repressed trauma from her childhood.

Examples of repress in a Sentence

formal The government attempted to repress the protests by deploying riot police.

informal She always tries to repress her emotions and put on a brave face.

slang I can't believe he's trying to repress me like that!

figurative The memories of that traumatic event were repressed deep in her subconscious.

Grammatical Forms of repress

• past tense: repressed
• plural: represses
• comparative: more repressive
• superlative: most repressive
• present tense: repress
• future tense: will repress
• perfect tense: have repressed
• continuous tense: is repressing
• singular: repress
• positive degree: repress
• infinitive: to repress
• gerund: repressing
• participle: repressed

Origin and Evolution of repress

First Known Use: 1300 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'repress' originated from the Latin word 'reprimere', which is a combination of 're-' (back) and 'primere' (to press).

Evolution of the word: Originally used in the 14th century with the meaning 'to check by force', the word 'repress' has evolved over time to also mean 'to hold back or suppress feelings or actions'.