repressed

adjective

re·​pressed ri-ˈprest 

1

: subjected to or marked by repression

2

: characterized by restraint

Synonyms of repressed

• muted
• restrained
• subdued
• quiet
• conservative

Examples of repressed in a Sentence

a 19th-century church in the repressed style favored by the strict religious sect

Recent Examples on the Web

These effects reflect what’s currently active in the mind, not necessarily hidden or repressed thoughts. — Karen Stollznow, The Conversation, 14 July 2026

Director Brian De Palma cemented our cultural awareness of Carrie with his 1976 classic, starring Sissy Spacek as the repressed Carrie White and Piper Laurie as her religious fanatic mother, Margaret. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 13 July 2026

He’s played by Grégoire Colin, one of the great modern French actors, whose onscreen persona combines unrelieved woundedness with barely repressed violence. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

Zhang, delivering his first fully Cantonese-language performance on the big screen, portrays a repressed small-time man caught between competing versions of reality. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for repressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed

Kids Definition

repressed

adjective

re·​pressed ri-ˈprest 

1

: subjected to or marked by repression

a repressed child

2

: characterized by a keeping in check

Medical Definition

repressed

adjective

re·​pressed ri-ˈprest 

: subjected to or marked by repression

a repressed child

repressed anger