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
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Recent Examples of repression
With Iran’s history of violent repression at the hands of state security forces, and accounts emerging from the country over the past few days, rights groups say the evidence outweighs any counter-narrative from the government.
—
Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
All fled poverty and political repression in Venezuela.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The only way to eliminate this danger is to remove Cabello from the government and dismantle his networks of repression.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 12 Jan. 2026
Levels of repression inside the country were getting worse but those trying to leave via its borders were risking indefinite detention.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repression
Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
All fled poverty and political repression in Venezuela.
—Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The only way to eliminate this danger is to remove Cabello from the government and dismantle his networks of repression.
—Boris Muñoz, Time, 12 Jan. 2026
Levels of repression inside the country were getting worse but those trying to leave via its borders were risking indefinite detention.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for repression
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repression
Noun
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But restraint does not mean passivity.—
Phil Morris The Minnesota Star Tribune,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2026
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The American Conservative was founded on foreign policy restraint, trade realism, and migration sanity in 2002.—
Jennifer Kavanagh,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Eberflus’ best intentions and vision for winning football disintegrated due in part to his team’s lack of discipline and the coaching staff’s inability to steer out of even the smallest skids.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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However, the Chinese researchers argue that those systems typically focus on fewer disciplines and often require manual adjustments when expanded.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Cambodian workers who power the country’s export economy remain exposed to unsafe working conditions, poverty wages and systematic union suppression.—
Tharo Khun,
Sourcing Journal,
8 Jan. 2026
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Because the chemistry is non‑flammable and doesn’t undergo thermal runaway, projects can be sited closer to the load with simpler fire suppression, changing the economics of distribution‑level storage.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Most of those seeds require some bit of cold weather exposure or other mitigating factor to overcome the inhibition and set the stage for a more sensible spring germination.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
21 Nov. 2025
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The key is to relax, let go of your inhibitions, and just have fun.—
Kimberly Zapata,
Parents,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Repression.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repression. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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