Repress
/rɪˈprɛs/noun
To restrain, suppress, or hold back an impulse, feeling, idea, or action.
Did you know?Repress comes from Latin premere, “to press,” the same root that eventually gave English press and print—turning emotional suppression into a physical metaphor.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*prem-
“To press or push down; a reconstructed Indo-European root”
Classical Latin
Latin
premere
“To press, crush, weigh upon, or constrain”
Classical Latin
Latin
reprimere
“To press back, restrain, or check; formed from re- (“back”) plus premere”
Late Latin
Latin
repressus
“Pressed back or restrained; the past participle of reprimere”
Middle English
English
repressen
“To restrain, suppress, or hold back”
Modern English
English
repress
“To suppress feelings, thoughts, impulses, or actions”