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repress

[ree-pres]

Origin

verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

to press again or anew.

Origin:
1870–75; re- + press¹

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Repress is one of our favorite verbs.

So is lollygag. Does it mean:

to spend time idly; loaf.

to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

to keep under control, check, or suppress (desires, feelings, actions, tears, etc.).

to keep down or suppress (anything objectionable).

to put down or quell (sedition, disorder, etc.).

to reduce (persons) to subjection.

Psychoanalysis. to reject (painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses) from the conscious mind.

verb (used without object)

to initiate or undergo repression.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English repressen < Latin repressus (past participle of reprimere), equivalent to re- re- + pressus, past participle of primere to press¹

Related forms

re·press·i·ble, adjective

non·re·press·i·ble, adjective

non·re·press·i·ble·ness, noun

non·re·press·i·b·ly, adverb

o·ver·re·press, verb (used with object)

EXPAND

un·re·press·i·ble, adjective

COLLAPSE

Can be confused: oppress, repress (see synonym note at oppress).

Synonyms
1. bridle, control. See check. 3. subdue, quash. 4. crush.

Antonyms
1–4. foster.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To repress

Collins

World English Dictionary

repress (rɪˈprɛs)

—vb
1.	to keep (feelings, etc) under control; suppress or restrain: to repress a desire
2.	to put into a state of subjugation: to repress a people
3.	psychoanal to banish (thoughts and impulses that conflict with conventional standards of conduct) from one's conscious mind

[C14: from Latin reprimere to press back, from re- + premere to press¹]

re'presser

—n

re'pressible

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

repress

late 14c., "to check, restrain," from L. repressus, pp. of reprimere "hold back, check," from re- "back" + premere "to push" (see press (v.1)). Used of feelings or desires from late 14c.; in the purely psychological sense, it represents Ger. verdrängen (Freud, 1893),

EXPAND

first attested 1904 (implied in repressed). Meaning "to put down" (a rebellion, etc.) is from late 15c. Related: Repressed; repressing.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

repress re·press (rĭ-prěs')
v. re·pressed, re·press·ing, re·press·es