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

• restraint
• repression
• discipline
• inhibition

Examples of suppression in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The suppression of Black voters well into the twentieth century was only ended (for the most part) with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), after a long and dangerous fight that saw multiple incidents of deadly violence against those advocating for equal access to the ballot. —JSTOR Daily, 25 Oct. 2025

The firm’s modular aerial suppression units are compact enough to be hand-carried, transported in utility vehicles, or deployed remotely. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2025

Schizophrenics without auditory hallucinations didn’t show the normal suppression pattern either. —New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2025

The lawsuit claims suppression of speech, retaliation, unreasonable seizure, unreasonably prolonged seizure, excessive force, false imprisonment and common law battery. —Jennifer Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for suppression

• accession
• aggression
• compression
• concession
• confession
• depression
• digression
• discretion
• expression
• impression
• obsession
• oppression

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