suppress

verb

Saysuh-PRESUK/səˈpɹɛs/AUS/səˈpɹes/

Formssuppresses, suppressing, suppressed

9 meanings of suppress

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To stop something by force, such as a protest or a riot.
Like stamping out a small fire before it spreads.
The government used soldiers to suppress the protest.
They suppressed the rebellion within a week.
Similareliminate, abolish
Oppositeencourage, foster
Note
2
verbtransitive
To hold back a feeling or reaction, like a laugh or a yawn.
Like pushing a beach ball under water to keep it down.
She tried to suppress a giggle during the ceremony.
He suppressed a yawn as the speech dragged on.
Similarrestrain, repress, curb, stifle, check
Oppositeexpress, vent, release
3
verbtransitive
To push unwanted thoughts out of your mind on purpose.
Like closing a door so you don't have to look inside a messy room.
He tried to suppress the memory of the accident.
She suppressed her worries and focused on the test.
Similarrepress, block, bury
Note
4
verbtransitive
To stop something from being printed or made public.
Like hiding a letter so no one can ever read it.
The company tried to suppress the report.
Officials suppressed the news for several days.
Similarcensor, withhold, conceal, bury
Oppositepublish, reveal, release, disclose
5
verbtransitive
To stop a liquid or other flow from moving.
Like pressing your thumb over the end of a hose to stop the water.
Doctors worked to suppress the bleeding.
The dam suppressed the river's flow.
Similarstem, dam, stanch
Note
6
verbtransitive
To stop enemy soldiers from firing, moving, or watching.
Like throwing so many snowballs that the other kids have to hide and can't throw back.
The squad fired to suppress the enemy.
Machine guns suppressed the enemy position.
Note
7
verbUStransitive
To stop evidence from being used in court because it was gathered the wrong way.
Like a referee not counting a goal because a player broke the rules first.
The judge agreed to suppress the evidence.
The court suppressed the confession.
Similarexclude
Oppositeadmit
Note
8
verbtransitive
To cut down unwanted parts of an electrical signal.
Like turning down only the sounds you don't want to hear.
Engineers use filters to suppress noise in the signal.
The circuit suppressed the high frequencies.
Similarattenuate, reduce, filter
Oppositeamplify, boost
Note

Less common meaning

9
verbobsolete
To hold something down or keep it low in position.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of suppress apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Latin supprimō, meaning to press down, made from sub (under) and premō (press).