depressed; depressing; depresses
2
a
: to press down
depress the backspace key
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
3
: to lessen the activity or strength of
drugs that may depress the appetite
4
: sadden, discourage
don't let the news depress you
5
: to decrease the market value or marketability of
Examples of depress in a Sentence
The news seemed to depress him a little.
I don't mean to depress you, but there's no way we can win.
We were all depressed by the loss.
You shouldn't let this kind of problem depress you.
These changes could depress the economy.
Market conditions are likely to depress earnings in the next quarter.
depressing the price of a stock
Slowly depress the car's brake pedal.
Depress the “shift” key on your keyboard.
The doctor will depress your tongue and look at your throat.
Recent Examples on the Web
This sounds like depressing stuff, and Mothertongue is not extremely upbeat.
—
Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
China has historically been the largest export market for American soybeans, so the embargo has significantly depressed American soybean prices for the past few months.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Denial No one knew if Tripp had been depressed before his suicide.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Broader health insurance protections could prevent more Americans from sinking into debt and depressing their credit scores.
—Kff Health News, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
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show current usage.
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Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
China has historically been the largest export market for American soybeans, so the embargo has significantly depressed American soybean prices for the past few months.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
Denial No one knew if Tripp had been depressed before his suicide.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 28 Oct. 2025
Broader health insurance protections could prevent more Americans from sinking into debt and depressing their credit scores.
—Kff Health News, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
Cite this Entry
“Depress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depress. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
depress
verb
de·press
di-ˈpres 
1
a
: to press down
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
2
: to lessen the activity or strength of
3
: sadden, discourage
4
: to lessen in price or value : depreciate
depressingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
Medical Definition
depress
transitive verb
de·press
di-ˈpres
1
: to diminish the activity, strength, or yield of
able to depress irritability of the heart muscle by the use of such a drug as procaine
2
: to lower in spirit or mood
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