repressed

adjective

re·​pressed ri-ˈprest How to pronounce repressed (audio)
1
: subjected to or marked by repression
2
: characterized by restraint

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Shiv was such a restrained and repressed character emotionally. Kate Aurthur, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025 This retrograde shifts from the Fire element (action and expression) to Water (intuition and emotion), forcing us to sit with what’s unsaid, unresolved or repressed. Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025 Blue Cowboy’s pairing of Cale’s narrator and Will the cowboy — so handsome, so soulful, so repressed as to be nearly fantastical — heightens your awareness of the class and political divides at play. Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025 In Coldwater, Walking Dead star Lincoln returns to British screens as a repressed man who moves to a backwater Scottish village and strikes up a friendship with his next door neighbor Tommy (Ewen Bremner). Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for repressed

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of repressed was in 1606

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Repressed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repressed. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

repressed

adjective
re·​pressed ri-ˈprest How to pronounce repressed (audio)
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 How to pronounce repressed (audio)
: subjected to or marked by repression
a repressed child
repressed anger

More from Merriam-Webster on repressed

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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