1
as in saddens
to make sad
the thought of once again failing the bar exam depressed me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lowers
to cause to fall intentionally or unintentionally
construction workers depressed the roadbed in order to make way for an overpass
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in reduces
to diminish the price or value of
the glut of wheat on the market has depressed that commodity for most of the past year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in presses
to push steadily against with some force
depressed the lever to start the machine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of depresses
Modified in this way, the gun will continue firing as long as the shooter depresses the trigger and the gun has ammunition.
—
Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026
Usually a warm El Nino spikes temperatures and its cool La Nina flip side depresses temperatures.
—Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
Empirical studies confirm that reliance on large donors depresses participation in time-intensive legislative activities—things such as bill sponsorship, floor debate, and committee work.
—Duncan Hosie, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Their style of pitching — relentlessly pound the strike zone — works well in a ballpark where the thick air depresses doubles and triples.
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
As Aerohart explains of its own device, the user simply puts the tinder – char cloth seems to be the most recommended – inside the cavity at the tip of the removable piston rod, reinstalls the piston back into the cylinder, then firmly and rapidly depresses it.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
At one moment in the concerto, the soloist—here the brilliant, committed young pianist Jeonghwan Kim—silently depresses a C-major triad with the left hand and then bangs out a C-major triad with the right, so that the lower strings resonate.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
As the user depresses a key, the backside of the key (which is not visible) touches a thin layer of material.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026
Usually a warm El Nino spikes temperatures and its cool La Nina flip side depresses temperatures.
—Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
Empirical studies confirm that reliance on large donors depresses participation in time-intensive legislative activities—things such as bill sponsorship, floor debate, and committee work.
—Duncan Hosie, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2026
Their style of pitching — relentlessly pound the strike zone — works well in a ballpark where the thick air depresses doubles and triples.
—Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
As Aerohart explains of its own device, the user simply puts the tinder – char cloth seems to be the most recommended – inside the cavity at the tip of the removable piston rod, reinstalls the piston back into the cylinder, then firmly and rapidly depresses it.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
At one moment in the concerto, the soloist—here the brilliant, committed young pianist Jeonghwan Kim—silently depresses a C-major triad with the left hand and then bangs out a C-major triad with the right, so that the lower strings resonate.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
As the user depresses a key, the backside of the key (which is not visible) touches a thin layer of material.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for depresses
Verb
-
However, that really saddens me now.—
Abigail Wise,
Outside,
3 Jan. 2026
-
Being stuck in the middle is what saddens the Others.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
My wife consistently lowers her expectations and continues to support him.—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Cámara cranks one burner to 20,000 BTU to quickly boil fresh pasta and lowers the next to a gentler 300 BTU to simmer sauces whipped up with leftover garden vegetables.—
Kate Kassin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This ceiling reduces the effective tax benefit from 37% to 35%.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
16 Apr. 2026
-
This approach reduces the chance of a single point of failure bringing down an entire system and ensures appropriate AI boundaries that keep human intelligence at the center of business decisions that matter.—
Anita Beveridge-Raffo,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Graham-Dixon presses its claim afresh, and, in the process, discovers it everywhere.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Mahajan presses firmly into the inner lives and cerebral crevices of terror victims, witnesses and perpetrators.—
Sibani Ram,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
It is governed by a brutal regime that oppresses its people and is an enemy to the United States.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
5 Mar. 2026
-
His policies have been instrumental in dismantling the criminal enterprise that oppresses the Venezuelan people.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Through all these threads, The Audacity throws itself headlong at some of tech’s biggest hot-button topics, including privacy, AI and, in an oddly halfhearted subplot involving JoAnne’s son, Everett Bliunck’s Orson, the manosphere, with an eye as cold as its characters.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Frances shoves June at Boy Carteret.—
Alice Burton,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Season 2 springboards on Fisk’s strongarm rule and his mandate to clean up the streets of rebels via his brutish Anti-Vigilante Task Force, which rounds up people – echoing recent INS maneuvers – and shoves them into deplorable conditions and cages.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
What troubles me most about the manosphere documentary is not the influencers themselves.—
Steven Burg,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Understanding this cold-sensing protein could one day lead to better therapies for cold hypersensitivity that often troubles people undergoing certain types of cancer chemotherapies.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Depresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/depresses. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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