depressed; depressing; depresses
2
a
: to press down
depress a typewriter 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
The plan keeps international credits out of the EU Emissions Trading System, avoiding the risk of depressing carbon prices for European industry.
—
María Mendiluce, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Rather than feeling triumphant at how believable ELIZA was, Weizenbaum was depressed by how gullible people seemed to be.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
Her research has shown that lynchings depressed the rate of patent applications by Black Americans, which could have otherwise contributed to innovation and economic growth.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 26 Aug. 2025
The very worst position as an individual farmer is to have a poor crop in a year when yields are high nationally, depressing prices.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
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María Mendiluce, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Rather than feeling triumphant at how believable ELIZA was, Weizenbaum was depressed by how gullible people seemed to be.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
Her research has shown that lynchings depressed the rate of patent applications by Black Americans, which could have otherwise contributed to innovation and economic growth.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 26 Aug. 2025
The very worst position as an individual farmer is to have a poor crop in a year when yields are high nationally, depressing prices.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 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 13 Sep. 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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