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

Dan Stanton, a former Canadian intelligence officer who spent more than three decades at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and is an expert in transnational repression, said that the arrests are significant. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026

The two young women at the center of the chamber piece that is Fruit Gathering face more challenges than hard work in a monotonous environment, including exhausting work, economic uncertainty and social repression. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026

Government repression increasingly targeted Catholic clergy in communities in Quiché, and Gerardi began to openly protest the violent acts. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026

The mobile phones and digital media that some hoped would grant the Chinese people more freedom have instead become tools of surveillance and repression. — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026