SUPPRESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does suppress mean? 

• SUPPRESS (verb)
  The verb SUPPRESS has 5 senses:

1. bring under control by force or authority

2. come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority

3. consciously restrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior

4. put out of one's consciousness

5. lessen to the point of stopping

  Familiarity information: SUPPRESS used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUPPRESS (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they suppress    ... he / she / it suppresses   
Past simple: suppressed   
Past participle: suppressed   
-ing form: suppressing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bring under control by force or authority

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress

Context example:

conquer one's desires

Hypernyms (to "suppress" is one way to...):

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate (lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suppress"):

choke back; choke down; choke off (suppress)

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still (cause to be quiet or not talk)

burke (get rid of, silence, or suppress)

silence (keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure)

quell; quench; squelch (suppress or crush completely)

quench (electronics: suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit, or suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

suppresser (an electrical device for suppressing unwanted currents)

suppresser (someone who suppresses)

suppression (forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority)

suppression (the act of withholding or withdrawing some book or writing from publication or circulation)

suppressive (tending to suppress)

suppressor (someone who suppresses)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

crush; oppress; suppress

Context example:

The government oppresses political activists

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suppress"):

keep down; quash; reduce; repress; subdue; subjugate (put down by force or intimidation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

suppresser (someone who suppresses)

suppression (forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority)

suppressive (tending to suppress)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Consciously restrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bottle up; inhibit; suppress

Context example:

he let his anger bottle up until he exploded

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "suppress"):

dampen; stifle (suppress or constrain so as to lessen in intensity)

muffle; repress; smother; stifle; strangle (suppress in order to conceal or hide)

choke (check or slow down the action or effect of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Put out of one's consciousness

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

repress; suppress

Hypernyms (to "suppress" is one way to...):

bury; forget (dismiss from the mind; stop remembering)

Domain category:

psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

suppression ((psychology) the conscious exclusion of unacceptable thoughts or desires)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Lessen to the point of stopping

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

this drug can suppress the hemorrhage

Hypernyms (to "suppress" is one way to...):

decrease; lessen; minify (make smaller)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

Colchicine suppresses a multi-protein complex called NLRP3, which triggers the inflammation seen in obesity.

(Gout treatment may help prevent obesity-related type 2 diabetes, National Institutes of Health)

As NPGL levels greatly increased in mice exposed to a low calorie diet, it is an appetite promoter, working in opposition to appetite suppressing hormones such as leptin.

(New Appetite Control Mechanism Found in Brain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

They then verified that both synthetic lipids also suppressed the immune response during infection of mouse and human cells in the laboratory.

(Natural lipid acts as potent anti-inflammatory, National Institutes of Health)

I hold it, therefore, to be certain that he does know who these men are, and that for reasons of his own he suppresses it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Specifically, curcumin inhibits cell invasion by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression by suppressing NF-kB and AP-1 activation.

(Olive Oil Extract/Curcumin-based Capsule, NCI Thesaurus)

Anyhow, he has suppressed it all.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This suppresses DNA replication and decreases tumor cell proliferation.

(Palbociclib, NCI Thesaurus)

It is caused by a mutation in the tumor-suppressing gene, TGFBR1, on chromosome 9.

(Multiple Self Healing Epithelioma of Ferguson-Smith, NCI Thesaurus)

Any substance that is capable of relieving or suppressing coughing.

(Antitussive Agent, NCI Thesaurus)

The amphibian chytrid fungus suppresses the immune responses of amphibian hosts, so many researchers doubted that amphibians could acquire effective immunity against this pathogen.

(Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus, NSF)