suppression

noun

sup·​pres·​sion sə-ˈpre-shən 

1

: an act or instance of suppressing : the state of being suppressed

2

: the conscious intentional exclusion from consciousness of a thought or feeling

Synonyms

• constraint
• continence
• discipline
• discretion
• inhibition
• refrainment
• repression
• reserve
• restraint
• self-command
• self-control
• self-restraint

Example Sentences

learned that suppression of her angry feelings didn't necessarily make them go away

Recent Examples on the Web

The type of suppression most clearly barred by the First Amendment was the 17th-century English censorship imposed partly through cooperative private entities—universities and the Stationers’ Company, the printers trade guild. —Philip Hamburger, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2022

Meanwhile, bigger risks of speech suppression may lurk among the infrastructure companies that enable social apps and services–yet that, too, may not be a problem fixable with must-carry laws. —Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 9 Dec. 2022

The top court ruled in the county’s favor, ending Justice Department oversight in Alabama and other states with records of voter suppression. —al, 5 Dec. 2022

Modern China’s bargain — economic prosperity to counter the suppression of individual freedoms — will no longer hold. —Bobby Miller, National Review, 2 Dec. 2022

Above all, the suppression of the protests depends on the tools of China’s digital surveillance state. —Isabel Hilton, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2022

That, despite a state law that requires courts to release search warrants and affidavits 56 days after a warrant is issued, unless investigators convince a judge or magistrate to extend the suppression. —Kelly House And Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 30 Nov. 2022

For instance, Iranian players declined to sing their national anthem in their opening game against England on Monday, in a possible protest about the violent suppression of dissent rocking the Islamic Republic. —Stephen Collinson, CNN, 23 Nov. 2022

But her prescriptions also come close to insisting on the suppression of dissent. —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

suppression

noun

sup·​pres·​sion sə-ˈpresh-ən 

: an act or instance of suppressing: as

a

: stoppage of a bodily function or a symptom

suppression of urine secretion

suppression of a cough

b

: the failure of development of a bodily part or organ

c

: the conscious intentional exclusion from consciousness of a thought or feeling compare repression sense 2a