repression
noun
re·pres·sion
ri-ˈpre-shən 
1
a
: the action or process of repressing : the state of being repressed
repression of unpopular opinions
b
: an instance of repressing
racial repressions
2
a
: a mental process by which distressing thoughts, memories, or impulses that may give rise to anxiety are excluded from consciousness and left to operate in the unconscious
b
: an item so excluded
Synonyms
Examples of repression in a Sentence
the state's repression of its citizens
They survived 60 years of political repression.
Recent Examples on the Web
Remember a year like 1956 when the U.S. was unable to prevent Soviet repression of a revolt in Hungary; French loss of Vietnam, or the Suez invasion by our allies Britain, France and Israel?
—
TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
The demonstrations were a rare show of public outrage in Russia, where severe wartime repressions have squashed virtually all public dissent.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The moment reflected life under Bukele: a blip of protest puncturing the air of orderly mass satisfaction, then an eerie return of the state’s past repression.
—Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
The replacement of Ukrainian institutions and repression of dissent started quickly after the vote.
—Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Crackdown on Protests: U.N. investigators said that the Iranian authorities killed, tortured and raped many in their brutal repression of protests that erupted over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The expectation for Bukele’s second term is that repression and criminalization will only increase.
—Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2020, hundreds of Chileans were maimed during the violent repression of former president, the billionaire Sebastián Piñera, who recently died while piloting his helicopter, triggering a national wave of schadenfreude.
—Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
Despite this atmosphere of repression in which mass protests are all but impossible, just before his death Navalny called for people to gather at polling stations on Sunday at noon in a show of dissent.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
The demonstrations were a rare show of public outrage in Russia, where severe wartime repressions have squashed virtually all public dissent.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The moment reflected life under Bukele: a blip of protest puncturing the air of orderly mass satisfaction, then an eerie return of the state’s past repression.
—Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
The replacement of Ukrainian institutions and repression of dissent started quickly after the vote.
—Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Crackdown on Protests: U.N. investigators said that the Iranian authorities killed, tortured and raped many in their brutal repression of protests that erupted over the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The expectation for Bukele’s second term is that repression and criminalization will only increase.
—Danielle MacKey, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2020, hundreds of Chileans were maimed during the violent repression of former president, the billionaire Sebastián Piñera, who recently died while piloting his helicopter, triggering a national wave of schadenfreude.
—Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
Despite this atmosphere of repression in which mass protests are all but impossible, just before his death Navalny called for people to gather at polling stations on Sunday at noon in a show of dissent.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'repression.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near repression
Cite this Entry
“Repression.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repression. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
repression
noun
re·pres·sion
ri-ˈpresh-ən
1
: the act of repressing : the state of being repressed
2
: a process of the mind by which painful or disturbing thoughts or desires are kept from conscious awareness
Medical Definition
repression
noun
re·pres·sion
ri-ˈpresh-ən
1
: the action or process of repressing
gene repression
2
a
: a process by which unacceptable desires or impulses are excluded from consciousness and left to operate in the unconscious compare suppression sense c
b
: an item so excluded
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