Synonyms for repress
rɪˈprɛsre·press

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. repressverb

   To prevent forcefully an upheaval from developing further.

   Synonyms:
   subdue, quell, crush out, suppress

2. repressverb

   Hence, to check; to keep back.

   Synonyms:
   restrain, hold back

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. repress

   To restrain is to hold back from acting, proceeding, or advancing, either by physical or moral force. Constrain is positive; restrain is negative; one is constrained to an action; he is restrained from an action. Constrain refers almost exclusively to moral force, restrain frequently to physical force, as when we speak of putting one under restraint. To restrain an action is to hold it partially or wholly in check, so that it is under pressure even while it acts; to restrict an action is to fix a limit or boundary which it may not pass, but within which it is free. To repress, literally to press back, is to hold in check, and perhaps only temporarily, that which is still very active; it is a feebler word than restrain; to suppress is finally and effectually to put down; suppress is a much stronger word than restrain; as, to suppress a rebellion. Compare ARREST; BIND; KEEP.

   Synonyms:
   abridge, bridle, check, circumscribe, confine, constrain, curb, hinder, hold, hold back, hold in, keep, keep back, keep down, keep in, keep under, restrain, restrict, suppress, withhold

   Antonyms:
   aid, animate, arouse, emancipate, encourage, excite, free, impel, incite, let loose, release, set free

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. repress

   Synonyms:
   crush, quell, subdue, check, restrain, curb, overpower, mitigate, damp, calm, control

   Antonyms:
   raise, rouse, excite, agitate, aggravate, foment, intensify, foster, encourage, stimulate, incite, fan

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.0 / 1 vote

1. repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate, reduceverb

   put down by force or intimidation

   "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"

   Synonyms:
   chasten, strangle, get over, suppress, concentrate, master, conquer, avoid, quash, slim down, boil down, surmount, scale down, annul, trim down, thin out, inhibit, lose weight, decoct, cut, foreshorten, nullify, abbreviate, trim, slenderize, subject, shorten, deoxidise, crucify, subjugate, cut down, abridge, reduce, contract, melt off, subdue, curb, stamp down, invalidate, deoxidize, come down, subordinate, tame, number, mortify, dilute, slim, shrink, smother, thin, bring down, trim back, cut back, overcome, muffle, keep down, stifle, void, tighten

2. smother, stifle, strangle, muffle, repressverb

   conceal or hide

   "smother a yawn"; "muffle one's anger"; "strangle a yawn"

   Synonyms:
   keep down, cramp, muffle, surround, quash, halter, suppress, asphyxiate, subjugate, gag, mute, strangulate, throttle, reduce, hamper, put out, damp, suffocate, dull, smother, choke, stifle, dampen, tone down, strangle, subdue

3. suppress, repressverb

   put out of one's consciousness

   Synonyms:
   keep down, muffle, bottle up, oppress, stamp down, inhibit, reduce, subjugate, smother, crush, quash, stifle, suppress, conquer, curb, strangle, subdue

4. repressverb

   block the action of

   Synonyms:
   stifle, subdue, subjugate, muffle, strangle, keep down, smother, reduce, suppress, quash

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Forget
   • Psychiatry

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. choke back (verb)

   fail to control one’s emotions

   they choked back tears (feelings; anger; disappointment, etc.)

   Submitted by erhnice on July 28, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. repressverb

   Synonyms:
   suppress, subdue, crush, quell, overpower, overcome, put down

2. repressverb

   Synonyms:
   restrain, check, curb, bridle, control, chasten, rein in, sober down

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. repressverb

   Synonyms:
   quell, subdue, suppress, overpower, restrain, curb, stifle

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "repress":

   suppress, oppress, stifle, quell, suppressing, punish

How to pronounce repress?

How to say repress in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use repress in a sentence?

1. Kohei Uchimura:

   What happened today can only make me stronger, i need to repress my feelings so I can perform better at the next competition.

2. Joseph Goebbels:

   If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic andor military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

3. Maria Olivares:

   They come and repress us when in their homes they're suffering too.

4. Jared Leto:

   As international journalists we also understand the importance of freedom of artistic expression. Together we will stand united against anyone who would repress free speech anywhere, from North Korea to Paris.

5. Karl Marx:

   The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.