Synonyms of repression

repression

noun

ri-ˈpre-shən 

as in restraint

the checking of one's true feelings and impulses when dealing with others

psychologists talking about the repression of anger and how it affects one's health

Synonyms & Similar Words

• restraint
• discipline
• suppression
• inhibition
• composure
• constraint
• self-control
• discretion
• reserve
• refrainment
• self-restraint
• continence
• possession
• control
• self-command
• mastery
• silence
• willpower
• self-discipline
• self-censorship
• will
• distance
• self-government
• aloofness
• self-denial
• reticence
• self-mastery
• shyness
• bashfulness
• self-containment
• command
• modesty
• taciturnity
• self-possession
• detachedness
• self-poise

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• incontinence
• disinhibition
• gratification
• indulgence
• unconstraint
• frankness
• overindulgence
• candor
• bluntness
• uninhibitedness
• self-abandonment
• intemperance
• unrestrainedness
• self-indulgence
• immoderacy

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of repression

The American Victorian era was super repressed, almost like fetishized repression. — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

Yet repression produced something the government could not entirely reverse. — Pegah Banihashemi, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026

Shortages of skilled labor are restraining production in defense firms and across the economy, compounded by the emigration of several hundred thousand mostly younger people due to fears of conscription and political repression. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

The state, aside from its capacity for political repression, is rapidly weakening. — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026