- (of a person) repressing feelings, instincts, desires, etc
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•pressed
(ri prest′),USA pronunciation adj.
- Psychology, Psychiatrysubjected to, affected by, or characteristic of psychological repression:repressed emotional conflicts.
- repress + -ed2 1900–05
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
repressed /rɪˈprɛst/ adj
re•press /rɪˈprɛs/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object]
re•pres•sive, adj. See -press-.
- Psychologyto check or inhibit (actions or desires):repressed a sneeze.
- to hold down and control (persons) unfairly or evilly:to repress one's civil rights.
- Psychologyto keep down or hold back (memories, emotions, or impulses) unconsciously:to repress his fantasies.
re•pres•sive, adj. See -press-.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
repress /rɪˈprɛs/ vb (transitive)
- to keep (feelings, etc) under control; suppress or restrain
- to put into a state of subjugation: to repress a people
- to banish (thoughts and impulses that conflict with conventional standards of conduct) from one's conscious mind
'repressed' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abreaction
- catharsis
- irrepressible
- latent
- parapraxis
- pent-up
- repression
- reprimand
- smoulder
- undamped
- uptight
- act
- complex
- conversion
- countertransference
- manifest
- nonrepressed
- penis envy
- reaction formation
- resistance
- truth serum
- unrepressed
- smolder
- steam
- subdued