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

Kidd said during the hearing, which was suppressed for two months. — Rod Mcguirk, The Seattle Times, "Australian reporters charged over Pell gag order violations," 26 Mar. 2019 McClenachan suggests looking to the alewife, a species that lives near her home in Maine and whose ranks were suppressed for several centuries because of dams that prevented them from swimming up the local rivers to spawn. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "What Will Be the Last Fish?," 10 Dec. 2018 Yet Hill's playing time has been somewhat suppressed by foul trouble. — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, "It's Now or Never for George Hill and the Cavaliers," 6 June 2018 Israeli officials see Poland’s controversial legislation as an attempt to suppress such discussion, and Netanyahu has faced criticism from historians in Israel for not opposing the law, which critics say distorts history. — Aron Heller, The Seattle Times, "Israel hosts east European leaders after summit scrapped," 19 Feb. 2019 For years now, Republicans have been using tools like voter ID laws and gerrymandering to rig the electoral system in their favor by suppressing minority votes and packing minority voters into a handful of districts. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "The 9 thinkers who made sense of 2018’s chaos," 27 Dec. 2018 Calls for the recognition of political parties were violently suppressed and activists jailed during Gayoom's 30-year authoritarian rule. — Krishan Francis, Fox News, "Maldives prepares for polls seen as test for young democracy," 21 Sep. 2018 Later investigation discovered that 10 restaurants in The Dalles had had their salad bars infected by followers of Rajneesh in an attempt to suppress voter turnout and ensure the group could gain seats on the county commission. — Adam Carlson, PEOPLE.com, "Everything to Know About the ‘Cult’ That Took Over a Tiny Oregon Town, Featured in Netflix’s Wild Wild Country," 6 Apr. 2018 The announcement was hailed as a victory by supporters of the defendants, who claimed from the start that the trials were an attempt by the Trump administration to suppress and criminalize dissent. — CBS News, "Feds drop charges against more than 100 arrested during inauguration protests," 19 Jan. 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

12 Apr 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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