DECOMPRESS Synonyms: 41 Similar and Opposite Words

decompress

verb

ˌdē-kəm-ˈpres

as in to relax

to get rid of nervous tension or anxiety after she gets home from work, she needs some time to decompress before preparing dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tense (up)

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of decompress But when the season ended and Flaherty finally had a chance to decompress, some of the frustration turned to grace. —

Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026 Sensory sensitive kids might need comfortable spaces to decompress or personal hygiene products that are entirely unscented. —

Sara Rowe Mount, Parents, 3 Feb. 2026 Engineers train them to compress and decompress data so that the output matches the input as closely as possible. —

IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2026 The dining room has a lovely ambiance and is great for a date night or just meeting friends to decompress. —

Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 22 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for decompress

Recent Examples of Synonyms for decompress

relax

Verb

South Africa’s anti-trust regulator is holding private talks with the telecoms industry about relaxing competition rules, signaling that regulators in Africa’s biggest economy may be willing to make changes that could unleash a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 20 Mar. 2026
Longhorn fans can relax for now as Texas defeated BYU 79-71.

— Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026