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
His digital life is just as organized—a fact that never fails to amaze (and slightly depress) me.
—
Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
The fallout of black swan events like wars and pandemics can trigger higher interest rates, increase inflationary pressures, depress economic growth, erode investor confidence and depreciate the value of money.
—Mitch Salchow, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
In Altadena, each month, more vacant lots are coming on the market, depressing prices by as much as $100,000 on a $1 million lot.
—William La Jeunesse , Erika Kuehl, FOXNews.com, 18 July 2025
On the other hand, policy uncertainty linked to trade can depress business investment in the medium term.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
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Dan Rockmore, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
The fallout of black swan events like wars and pandemics can trigger higher interest rates, increase inflationary pressures, depress economic growth, erode investor confidence and depreciate the value of money.
—Mitch Salchow, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
In Altadena, each month, more vacant lots are coming on the market, depressing prices by as much as $100,000 on a $1 million lot.
—William La Jeunesse , Erika Kuehl, FOXNews.com, 18 July 2025
On the other hand, policy uncertainty linked to trade can depress business investment in the medium term.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 8 July 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 20 Aug. 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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