suppress

verb

sup·press | \ sə-ˈpres

suppressed; suppressing; suppresses

Definition of suppress

transitive verb

1 : to put down by authority or force : subdue suppress a riot

2 : to keep from public knowledge: such as

a : to keep secret

b : to stop or prohibit the publication or revelation of suppress the test results

3a : to exclude from consciousness

b : to keep from giving vent to : check suppressed her anger

4 obsolete : to press down

5a : to restrain from a usual course or action suppress a cough

b : to inhibit the growth or development of

6 : to inhibit the genetic expression of suppress a mutation

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Other Words from suppress

suppressibility \ sə-ˌpre-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

suppressible \ sə-ˈpre-sə-bəl

\ adjective

suppressive \ sə-ˈpre-siv

\ adjective

suppressiveness \ sə-ˈpre-siv-nəs

\ noun

Examples of suppress in a Sentence

Political dissent was brutally suppressed. The governor tried to suppress the news. He struggled to suppress his feelings of jealousy. She could not suppress her anger. I had to suppress an urge to tell him what I really thought.

Recent Examples on the Web

Semenya has been forced to medically suppress her testosterone level before, under previous IAAF rules that were dropped in 2015. — NBC News, "Caster Semenya wins court battle in her fight to run without hormone suppressants," 4 June 2019 Once released, the Samsung-Cheil version of the potassium carbonate, which is colorless, quickly works to suppress nearby fire. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Samsung's 'Firevase' Is a Smashing Fire Extinguisher," 28 Mar. 2019 The lenses apparently block out blue light—which is known to suppress your melatonin levels—thus causing sleeplessness. — Marina Liao, Marie Claire, "Do Sleep Glasses Actually Work?," 5 Feb. 2019 Or, in this case, early onset lunching isn’t the problem, but the tendency to suppress your body’s natural hunger cycle to accommodate workday norms. — Michelle Ruiz, Bon Appetit, "Here’s Why You’re Always So Hungry for Lunch at 11 a.m.," 21 May 2018 Even after a successful transplant, patients have to take immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ rejection for the foreseeable future. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Scientists Successfully 3D Print an Organ That Mimics Lungs," 3 May 2019 But these mutations—present on genes that can normally help suppress tumor activity via producing proteins that repair DNA—can also increase your risk for other cancers, including ovarian cancer. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "How Your BRCA Status May Impact Your Ovarian Cancer Treatment," 17 Dec. 2018 Those efforts led to a 2005 Nature paper in which Nowak and two colleagues showed how strongly certain population structures can suppress or enhance the effects of natural selection. — John Rennie, WIRED, "This Mutation Math Shows How Life Keeps on Evolving," 1 July 2018 There are numerous ways that prosecutors can overcome defense motions to suppress evidence. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Examining the NCAA Probe: Did the FBI Unfairly Target Christian Dawkins?," 23 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'suppress.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

7 Jun 2019

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The first known use of suppress was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for suppress

suppress

verb

English Language Learners Definition of suppress

: to end or stop (something) by force

: to keep (something) secret : to not allow people to know about or see (something)

: to not allow yourself to feel, show, or be affected by (an emotion)

See the full definition for suppress in the English Language Learners Dictionary

suppress

verb

sup·press | \ sə-ˈpres

suppressed; suppressing

Kids Definition of suppress

1 : to put down (as by authority or force) : subdue Police suppressed a riot.

2 : to hold back : repress The girls could hardly suppress a smile.

suppress

transitive verb

sup·press | \ sə-ˈpres

Medical Definition of suppress

1 : to exclude from consciousness suppressed anxiety

2 : to restrain from a usual course or action suppress a cough

3 : inhibit sense 2 suppresses the human immune response— Josie Glausiusz especially : to inhibit the genetic expression of suppress a mutation

Other Words from suppress

suppressibility \ -ˌpres-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē

\ noun, plural suppressibilities

suppressible \ -ˈpres-ə-bəl

\ adjective

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suppress

transitive verb

sup·press | \ sə-ˈpres

Legal Definition of suppress

1 : to put down by authority or force

2a : to keep secret

b : to stop or prohibit the publication or revelation of

3a : to exclude (illegally obtained evidence) from use at trial suppress narcotics found in violation of the right against unreasonable search and seizure

b : to fail to disclose (material evidence favorable to a defendant) in violation of due process accused the prosecution of suppressing evidence — compare brady material

intransitive verb

: to suppress evidence

Other Words from suppress

suppressible adjective

suppression \ -ˈpre-shən

\ noun

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