† repressn.
Obsolete.
Repression; constraint.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > [noun] > suppression or repression
suppressingc1400
repression?a1425
oppressionc1430
repressing1431
suppression1487
nithering1489
repressa1500
abolition1529
abolishment1538
abolishing?1540
repressal1593
suppressal1612
compressure1644
repressment1837
crackdown1935
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 51 Here housbond and she helde hym in..grete vyolete and represse.
1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 14 For the represse of heretikes, and such erronious opinions in tyme cominge, be it established [etc.].
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 153/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II A reasonable and a vsed cesse was to be set and leuied..for the represse of their enimies.
1631 T. Drue Life Dutches of Suffolke i. sig. A3v See how leane has studdy made him, And his care with sweating in represse of errors.
1677 Govt. Tongue (new ed.) vi. 64 To make loud outcries of injury, when they tend nothing to the repress of it, is a liberty rather assumed by rage and impatience, then authorized by Justice.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
repressv.1
/rᵻˈprɛs/, U.S. /rəˈprɛs/, /riˈprɛs/ 1. † d. transitive. To suppress (a book or writing). Obsolete. rare.In quot. 1615 punning on repress v.2, in sense ‘reprint’; cf. press v.1 5.
a. transitive. To put down by force, suppress (an enemy, lawbreaker, troublemaker, etc.); to reduce to subjection, subdue.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > subject [verb (transitive)] > suppress, repress, or put down
nithereOE
adweschOE
overtreadOE
quellOE
to trample or tread under foot (also feet)c1175
adauntc1325
to bear downc1330
oppressc1380
repressc1391
overyoke?a1425
quencha1425
to bear overc1425
supprisec1440
overquell?c1450
farec1460
supprime1490
downbeara1500
stanch1513
undertread1525
downtread1536
suppress1537
to set one's foot on the neck of1557
depress?a1562
overbear1565
surpress1573
trample1583
repose1663
spiflicate1749
sort1815
to trample down1853
to sit on ——1915
to clamp down1924
crack down1940
tamp1959
society > armed hostility > victory > make victorious [verb (transitive)] > bring into subjection
subduea1387
subjugate1447
suppressc1450
quash1556
repress1582
reduce1605
c1391 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Huntington) vii. 3334* (MED) God schal hise foomen so represse That thei schul ay stonde under foote.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 125 (MED) The kynge shall often tymes sende his comissioners..to represse and punysh riatours and risers.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xxx. f. lxxvj*v They..haue comaundement for..to repressen aduersaryes and enemyes that besyen them to destroyen the countrey.
1533 T. More Apol. xii, in Wks. 870/2 I woulde wyshe the spiritualtye and temporaltye..to represse and keepe vnder those euyll and vngracious folke.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 37 This was Prince Priamus last ende and desteny final, Who saw thee Troians vanquisht, thee cittye repressed.
1605–6 Act 3 Jas. I c. 4 (title) An Acte for the better discovery and repressing Popish Recusants.
a1678 A. Marvell Short Hist. Ess. (1680) 28 But these new Inmates of the Emperors soon grew Troublesom, as is customary, and..Plunder'd even the Suburbs of Constantinople, there being no Armed Force to repress them.
1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) III. 54 Dunstable..was..rebuilt by Henry I. to repress a vast Number of Robbers which infested the Country.
1794 J. P. Andrews Hist. Great Brit. I. 259 James V., of Scots, at peace with his neighbours, continues to repress murtherers and thieves on the borders.
a1862 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1873) III. i. 20 It would have been a hopeless undertaking for any king to try to repress such powerful subjects.
1908 R. M. Grier & F. A. Hibbert Eng. Hist. 166 The nobles cruelly repressed the insurgents.
1971 W. Z. Laqueur Dict. Politics 438 After mounting Iron Guard atrocities and massacres of Gentiles as well as Jews, Antonescu repressed the Iron Guards with German consent.
1998 G. McKay DiY Culture 16 Some saw nonviolence as primarily tactical, arguing that if protesters used violence they would simply be repressed.
b. transitive. To put down, quell (a rebellion, riot, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > subject [verb (transitive)] > suppress, repress, or put down > rebellion or riot
repress1445
suppressa1538
reduce1682
1445–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1445 §18. m. 23 My said lorde..hath ben to labour al his dayes, for conservacion of the peas in the kynges lawes within this roialme, in repressyng and expellyng al maner riottes and extorcions.
1474–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 3rd Roll §34. m. 13 Which troubles, commotions, and other offenses..been nowe repressed.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. ii. xxvi. 236 The sedition rising be mocioun of þe law foresade was suddanlie repressit be þir novellis.
1567 T. Stapleton Counterblast iii. xxvii. f. 327v The kinge made this Lawe to represse the riot and excesse of the Clergy.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 255 Amurath to represse this..rebellion, sent Baiazet Bassa..with a strong armie into Europe.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World iv. xiii. 384/2 The Magistrates that had been slack to repress this riot, were some put out of Office, and others fined.
1768 J. Boswell Acct. Corsica (ed. 2) 109 The Genoese, eager to repress the rise of 1734.
1792 C. J. A. Hereford Hist. Rome I. vii. 213 In vain did Posthumius, adorned with the ensigns of authority, endeavour to repress the revolt.
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xiii. 107 The duty of repressing riots..in England lay with the nobility in their several districts.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §4. 244 The royal commissioners sent to repress the tumult were driven from the field.
1938 C. L. R. James Black Jacobins iv. 88 Though it was a question of repressing a slave-revolt, the Legislative, like the Constituent, would not tolerate the use of the word slave.
2001 N.Y. Times Almanac 2002 599/1 The Russians brutally repressed the uprising, but not before thousands of Kazakhs and many Russians were killed.
c. transitive. To suppress, stamp out (a practice, idea, etc., perceived as a threat to an authority).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > crush, stifle, or overwhelm (feelings, etc.)
shendOE
whelvec1000
allayOE
ofdrunkenc1175
quenchc1175
quashc1275
stanchc1315
quella1325
slockena1340
drenchc1374
vanquishc1380
stuffa1387
daunt?a1400
adauntc1400
to put downa1425
overwhelmc1425
overwhelvec1450
quatc1450
slockc1485
suppressa1500
suffocate1526
quealc1530
to trample under foot1530
repress1532
quail1533
suppress1537
infringe1543
revocate1547
whelm1553
queasom1561
knetcha1564
squench1577
restinguish1579
to keep down1581
trample1583
repel1592
accable1602
crush1610
to wrestle down?1611
chokea1616
stranglea1616
stifle1621
smother1632
overpower1646
resuppress1654
strangulate1665
instranglea1670
to choke back, down, in, out1690
to nip or crush in the bud1746
spiflicate1749
squasha1777
to get under1799
burke1835
to stamp out1851
to trample down1853
quelch1864
to sit upon ——1864
squelch1864
smash1865
garrotte1878
scotch1888
douse1916
to drive under1920
stomp1936
stultify1958
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > crush, stifle, or overwhelm (feelings, etc.) > a state of things, institution, etc.
extinct1531
repress1532
extinguish1590
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere i. p. xc For he maketh as though ye princes yt wold represse heresyes were as Absolon with his army.
1675 H. Croft Naked Truth 8 Our case is not in repressing seditious practises, but enforceing a Confession of Faith.
1688 Bp. G. Burnet Refl. Eng. Reformation ii. 66 There is no claim to the declaring what were Errors and Heresies, but only to the repressing them; and this is done by the Secular Arm.
1776 P. Nisbet Abridgem. Eccl. Hist. iii. 124 [The Popes of Rome] endeavoured to repress free, rational, religious enquiry.
1807 Anti-Jacobin Rev. & Mag. Mar. 261 He called in the seasonable aid of laws to suppress treason and sedition.
1874 W. F. Rae Wilkes, Sheridan, Fox 371 Parliament was energetic in repressing freedom of speech.
1920 M. E. Durham in B. Destani Albania & Albanians (2001) 122 The Young Turk was terrified at the rapid rise of Albanian nationality, and rushed to repress it and to try to forcibly Ottomanise the land.
1986 L. Fowler Araphoe Politics vii. 291 The invitations were political strategies that evolved in response to the intensification of government attempts to repress cultural traditions.
2007 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 19 Sept. a6 Exiled Tibetans claim the Chinese repress local customs, culture and religion.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > publishing > publisher > [verb (transitive)] > suppress publication
repress1602
1602 R. Parsons Warn-word ix. f. 66 Diuers sectaries haue begonne to complayn greatly of..the Cath. Roman Churche for repressing heretical books and purging others corrupted by them.
1615 Exchange Ware at Second Hand (ed. 2) sig. B2 Thus to please both, & grant them their request, My sentence is, The Booke shall be represt.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 6 You shall do well to represse any more copies of the Satyre.
2.
a. transitive. To restrain or suppress (one's desires, feelings, etc.) by an act of self-control; to refrain from (an act or expression); to stifle (a yawn, etc.).In later use sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > make emotionally unfeeling [verb (transitive)] > suppress emotions
forbearOE
refrainc1384
repressa1393
subdue1483
suppressa1500
squat1577
to bite in1608
contain?1611
to keep ina1616
swallowa1643
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 2410 (MED) Themperour..scholde his vanite represse With suche wordes as he herde.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) vii. 1171 (MED) Hatful detraccioun repressid his langage..because attemperaunce Hadde in that world hooli the gouernaunce.
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) 34 It is of the kynde of goodnesse..to helpe þe symple..represse [L. reprimere] thy tonge.
1551 T. Cranmer Answer S. Gardiner 33 In all matters of our christen faithe..we must represse our imaginations.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xvii. 97 Wee must bee earnest in repressing our desires, and in bridling them.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. iii. iii. 128 They..are so far from repressing rebellious inclinations, that they giue all encouragement vnto them.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 543 Desire of wine..Thou couldst repress . View more context for this quotation
1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. viii. 573 The prudent Goddess yet her Wrath represt.
1719 E. Young Busiris iv. 47 Turn, turn, Blasphemer, and repress thy Taunts.
1749 S. Johnson Vanity Human Wishes 10 Our supple Tribes repress their Patriot Throats.
1823 W. Scott Peveril IV. xiii. 314 The Countess..unable to repress her curiosity, placed herself near Fenella.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. i. 15 It was her duty to repress both the feeling of shame and the sorrow.
1914 L. Woolf Wise Virgins ii. 26 She had difficulty from time to time in repressing a yawn.
1971 R. MacDonald Underground Man xxi. 151 The feeling [sc. gusto] became conscious, and she repressed it, forcing iron disapproval on her face.
1999 J. Lahiri Interpreter of Maladies 161 With no efforts to repress his disdain he packed her into a rickshaw bound for the polyclinic.
b. transitive (reflexive). To refrain from expressing oneself or from discussing a matter further; to contain oneself from speaking.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > not speak or stop speaking [verb (reflexive)]
repress1574
suppress1646
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job (new ed.) clvii. 809/1 He had sayd he had put foorth himself without vnderstanding wel what he spake... Heere Iob pretendeth to represse himself.
1668 H. P. Cressey Church-hist. Brittany iii. xxv. 661/1 Sir. H. Spelman himself after he had produced these things, foreseeing that it would be a difficult taxe to iustify these allegations, is content to represse himself.
1747 T. Stackhouse New & Pract. Expos. Apostles Creed Pref. p. viii I must repress myself, and here tell my Reader once for all, that, whatever Materials, I was acquainted with, I have..industriously gathered it.
1796 T. R. Bentley Considerations upon State of Public Affairs 96 What limits would be those of France? how different from the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Rhine, and the Meuse?—I repress myself.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) ii. xxx. 585 She tried again to repress herself, but broke out vehemently, ‘Not Arthur's mother!’
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta II. xliv. 203 Mrs. Doncastle seemed inclined to make no remark..and at last Menlove could repress herself no longer.
1946 T. Rattigan Winslow Boy i. 19 (stage direct.) Grace is unable to repress herself. Grace. (coyly.) Well?
2006 K. G. Seidel Most Uncommon Degree of Popularity 210 If she has something complimentary or positive [to say], she manages to repress herself beautifully.
c. transitive. Originally Psychoanalysis. [after German verdrängen (used in this sense by Breuer & Freud 1893, in Neurol. Centralbl. 1210).] To suppress (an unacceptable thought, memory, or desire) so that it becomes or remains unconscious, either deliberately or through an involuntary process. Also intransitive.Cf. earlier repressed adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > libido > sublimation of libido > sublimate [verb (transitive)] > keep out of conscious mind
repress1906
suppress1913
scotomize1927
1906 Jrnl. Abnormal Psychol. 1 27 The original emotion itself may then fade out of the patient's sight, either because he voluntarily and studiously represses it by turning his attention elsewhere, or because it is incompatible with his prime interests.
1909 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Sel. Papers on Hysteria i. 7 The nature of the trauma..concerned things which the patient wished to forget and which he therefore intentionally inhibited and repressed from the conscious memory.
1943 J. S. Huxley Evol. Ethics ii. 15 The impulses whose thwarting generated the guilty hate may themselves become coloured with guilt, or be repressed.
1977 R. A. Baron et al. Psychol. x. 337 This unconscious mechanism can begin to create new problems... The individual loses some control over the situation when he represses his awareness of it.
2002 Signs 28 394 This is not to say that the novel advocates repressing traumatic memory.
3. † b. transitive. To control or counteract with a particular treatment or remedy; to allay, relieve; to cure (a disease, etc.); to staunch (bleeding). Obsolete.† c. transitive. To dilute, weaken. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To control or keep in check (something undesirable, in early use esp. a sin); (esp. of something immaterial) to cause or allow (a negative emotion, quality, etc.) to be tempered or restrained. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > restriction of free action > restrict in free action [verb (transitive)] > prevent from free course or development
repressa1413
snub1583
smothera1616
stranglea1616
mither1847
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > restrict or limit [verb (transitive)] > prevent from free course or development
repressa1413
snub1583
smothera1616
stranglea1616
throttle1825
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iii. l. 1033 Som manere Ialousye..with pite so wel repressed is That it vnneþe doth or seyth amys.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) ii. 2186 O lode-sterre off al good gouernaunce, All vicious lustis be wisdam to represse.
a1500 (?a1422) J. Lydgate Life Our Lady (Adv.) in W. B. D. D. Turnbull Visions of Tundale (1843) 93 The fyre hit quencheth also of envy And represseth the boluyng eke of pryde.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 14 To represse this rage..God hath lightened man with knowledge.
1596 T. Lodge Margarite of Amer. sig. B4 Thy nying graue remember, Which if thou dost, thy pride shall be repressed.
1626 T. Hawkins tr. N. Caussin Holy Court I. iii. 337 Chastity, is a uertue, which represseth the impure lusts of the flesh.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 39 Thus long succeeding Criticks justly reign'd, Licence repress'd, and useful Laws ordain'd.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 159. ⁋10 [When] this troublesome instinct..instead of repressing petulance and temerity, silences eloquence.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna iv. xxii. 86 While o'er the land is borne Her voice, whose awful sweetness doth repress All evil.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 155 Let there be a general law which will have a tendency to repress actions of impiety.
1904 L. O. Brastow Representative Mod. Preachers ix. 401 Genius..can triumph over the supposed tendency of a larger knowledge and closer training to repress the native forces.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > heal or cure [verb (transitive)] > arrest progress of disease
stancha1398
repress?a1425
adimate1657
jugulate1876
the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve > relieve (suffering)
lissea1000
alightOE
allayc1225
softc1225
comfort1297
laya1300
eathea1325
allegea1375
appeasec1374
laska1375
slakea1387
releasea1393
balma1400
to bete one of one's balea1400
to cool a person's caresc1400
delivera1413
leggea1425
mitigate?a1425
repress?a1425
alleviate?a1475
allevya1500
alleve1544
leviate1545
lenify1567
allevate1570
ungrieve1589
straight1604
mulcify1653
balsama1666
solace1667
meliorate1796
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 38 Take he somwhat of coriandre..for to represse [?c1425 Paris restreyne] fumez þat þay ascende not to þe heued.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 3361 (MED) Þer is a worme..Bufo..And whan men wil..his venym outerly represse, Þei take a squille, [etc.].
?a1450 tr. Macer Herbal (Stockh.) (1949) 66 (MED) Þe iuus of nettle sede..wole lette and represse þe fluxe of þe hede.
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 58 Perismon and agnaricon..draweth blak collir and repressen [c1475 Tripolitanus abbrev. refrayneth] the humours of melancoly.
1569 E. Fenton tr. P. Boaistuau Certaine Secrete Wonders Nature xxiv. 75 The hearbe of Scythia, whiche beyng kepte in the mouth, represseth hunger and thirst for ten or .xij. dayes.
1684 W. Russell Physical Treat. i. 19 The very same Medicines..repress unnatural Sweats.
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 614 When now the Rage of Hunger was represt.
1805 W. Saunders Treat. Mineral Waters (ed. 2) 34 A few drops of strong nitrous acid, poured into this hepatic water, at once represses the offensive smell.
1826 S. Cooper First Lines Pract. Surg. (ed. 5) ii. xviii. 360 The bleeding may be repressed by means of a piece of fine sponge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 92 (MED) If þe fistule may not be mortified wiþ o drop of ewe fort or of arsenic sublimed & repressed..be þe bone vncouered.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 175 (MED) It bihoueþ þat þai [sc. realgar and arsenic] be repressed, for þai ar wode medicynez.
c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 82 (MED) Vertegrese is ful mich penetratife, dissolutiue..And al þise ar repressed and dulled of wex and oile adde to it.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 511 (MED) Laye þerto þe powdre of arsenyk, more repressed [L. depressi] or alayed.
4. † b. transitive. To restrain or stop (a person) from action or physical advance; to keep back. Obsolete.In quot. a1525: to restrain from an activity.Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 1a.
a. transitive. To restrict or restrain (a personal quality, tendency, feeling, etc., in another person) by opposition or control.
ΚΠ
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 2591 Mars was..So feble that his maleyce is hym be-raft Repressid hath Venus his crewel craft.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Rawl.) (1974) 210 (MED) God..may represse and thurst downe the pryde of þeir ferce powere.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. iv. f. 20 He went aboute to represse theyr owtragiousenes.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. iiij He of a fatherly loue desyrous to represse his rashenes.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes To Rdr. They might long since..haue repressed his furie, and abated his pride.
1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection 146 in Justice Vindicated To repress their insolence, the yearly return of Danegelt was enacted.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. ii. §17. 469/2 Tiberius..repressed the daring boldness of the proud Persian Cosroes.
1749 T. Smollett Regicide ii. iv. 22 When thy soft Heart with kind Compassion glows, Shall I the tender Sentiment repress?
1778 W. Russell Hist. Amer. I. i. v. 186 It was entirely out of his [sc. Cortez's] power to repress the fury of his subjects.
1828 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I II. viii. 185 While this minister lived, he repressed the dark passions of Tiberius.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. I. i. 66 This vigorous arming to repress the self-seeking tendencies in the mercantile classes.
1903 C. George Rise Brit. W. Afr. xix. 229 In order to repress their refractory and insubordinate disposition,..they were given distinctly to understand that their future emancipation..would entirely depend on their general conduct.
2000 J. Schmidt Disciplined Minds xvi. 273 Hierarchies..make peoples working lives a grind,..repress their spontaneity and stunt their personal development.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restrain [verb (transitive)]
pindeOE
steerc950
hold971
forbidc1000
withstewc1175
withholdc1200
stewa1225
crempa1250
bistintc1300
i-stillc1315
withdraw1340
entemperc1380
rebukec1380
forfenda1382
refraina1382
refrainc1390
restraina1393
restayc1400
retainc1415
to hold abackc1440
overholda1450
reclaim?c1450
revokec1450
bedwynge1480
sniba1500
repressa1525
rein1531
inhibit1535
to keep back1535
cohibit1544
reprimec1550
lithe1552
to rein up1574
check1581
embridle1583
to rein in1593
retrench1594
refrenate1599
to hold back1600
snip1601
becheck1605
sneap1611
trasha1616
supersede1645
reprimand1689
snape1691
to clap a guy on1814
to pull up1861
to pull in1893
withstrain1904
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restrain [verb (transitive)] > hold in check
bridleOE
tempera1050
chastec1230
to hold inc1300
straina1340
stintc1366
attemperc1380
restraina1387
rulea1391
ward1390
coarctc1400
obtemper?a1425
to hold or keep (a person) shortc1425
compesce1430
stent1488
coactc1520
repressa1525
compress1526
control1548
snaffle1555
temperatea1568
brank1574
halter1577
curb1588
shortena1599
to bear (a rein) upon1603
check1629
coerceate1657
bit1825
throttle1862
hold1901
a1525 Contempl. Synnaris l. 804, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 216 Thir' wichti wordis..Quhilk may ȝour saulis fra slomber' of sleuth repress.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 103 He did represse the one..and he did prick on the other.
1744 J. Thomson Winter in Seasons (new ed.) 233 Armies stretch Each Way their dazzling Files, repressing here The frantic Alexander of the North.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 35 Who are those with hydra tresses..Whom the frowning God represses?
1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. May 534/2 He may require to be repressed sometimes..but there is no raising her.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. vi. 174 The men, mistaking his intent, had to be represt again by Hereward.
5.
a. transitive. To prevent (a thing or occasionally a person) from natural development, growth, or manifestation; to curb, inhibit, hold back.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > hinder in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > by entangling or binding > with restrictions, etc.
achoke?a1425
repress?1567
chokea1616
stranglea1616
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter xxxviii. 106 There is no helth: in all my flesh, Thy wrath my wealth: doth so represse.
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) Ded. 3 Among quhom James the first,..houbeit repressed be the iniquitie of the tyme, deserved noe smal praise.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 661 This Fear of God, is not only Beneficial to mankind in general, by repressing the growth of wickedness, but also wholesom and Salutary to those very persons themselves.
1751 T. Gray Elegy xiii. 7 Chill Penury repress'd their noble rage.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 384 An unnatural constraint is used to repress a period of life all fire and activity.
1830 J. W. Croker in Croker Papers (1884) II. xv. 83 The essential spirit of opposition was so strong that it often repressed or fettered those sentiments.
a1862 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (1873) III. iv. 269 The fairest and most endearing parts of our nature being constantly repressed, ceased to bear fruit.
1938 R. Metz Hundred Years Brit. Philos. ii. 74 Ideas which were latent in the general course of his thought and were not completely unfolded only because they were repressed by the system which he had inherited.
2004 P. P. Karan Non-Western World v. 362 Productivity growth was repressed by the lack of foreign and domestic competition.
b. transitive. Biochemistry and Genetics. To prevent or reduce the expression of (a gene), esp. by the binding of a repressor protein to its specific operator; to inhibit (genetic expression) in this way.
ΚΠ
1965 Lancet 26 June 1375/2 He proposed that a gene involved in the induction of tumours was repressed by a protein (Rep 1) controlled by a regulator gene.
1972 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 59 978/1 If histone represses the transcription process through DNA binding, then a high histone/DNA ratio..indicates a lower transcription level.
1990 EMBO Jrnl. 9 2835/1 Glucocorticoids are members of a family of steroid hormones that induce or repress the expression of specific genes.
2007 B. R. Migeon Females are Mosaics iii. 45 The X-chromosomes that remain functional in both sexes lack this RNA because its transcription was repressed very early in embryonic development.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (transitive)] > drive away > repel
recoil?c1225
to turn againc1330
to put awayc1350
rebukec1380
to put abacka1382
to put againa1382
again-puta1400
rebut?a1425
repeal?a1425
retroylc1425
rebatea1475
repel?a1475
repulse?a1475
to put backa1500
refel1548
revert1575
rembar1588
to beat back1593
rebeat1595
reject1603
repress1623
rambarrea1630
stave1631
refringe1692
slap-back1931
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 89 Some of the light-armed of the enemy ran forth..; which quickly were repressed by our Archers & Peltasts.
a1679 T. Hobbes Seven Philos. Probl. (1682) ii. 13 If two bodies cast off the Air, the motion of that Air will be repress'd both ways, and diverted into a course towards the Poles on both sides.
1755 R. Spearman Enq. Philos. & Theol. i. 93 The firmament or airs resist, repress, or react against a body, as much as the body presses or acts upon the firmament or airs.
1826 Glasgow Mechanics' Mag. 4 266/1 When the right hand wiper is repressed, it presses against the inside catch.
Derivatives
reˈpressment n. rare = repression n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > subjecting or subjugation > [noun] > suppression or repression
suppressingc1400
repression?a1425
oppressionc1430
repressing1431
suppression1487
nithering1489
repressa1500
abolition1529
abolishment1538
abolishing?1540
repressal1593
suppressal1612
compressure1644
repressment1837
crackdown1935
1837 Times 23 Jan. 2/5 The repressment of public minds and of public feeling.
1976 J. B. Boles Relig. in Antebellum Kentucky v. 93 The white church must have symbolized degrading repressment at least as much as genuine solicitude for the slaves' eternal souls.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
repressv.2
/ˌriːˈprɛs/, U.S. /riˈprɛs/ transitive. To subject to pressure a second or further time, esp. as part of a manufacturing process; to press again.The sense ‘to reprint (a book)’ is implied punningly in quot. 1615 at repress v.1 1d; cf. press v.1 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > pressing, pressure, or squeezing > press or squeeze [verb (transitive)] > again
repress1818
1818 G. Graglia New Pocket-dict. Ital. & Eng. Langs. 441/1 Ripremere, to repress, squeeze, press again.
1823 J. Morse & R. C. Morse Traveller's Guide 202/2 A fire-proof warehouse has recently been erected capable of containing 8,000 bales of cotton and provided with presses for re-pressing cotton.
1892 in A. E. Lee Hist. Columbus II. 539 Finely ground clays, pressed with heavy presses and repressed into uniform shape and compactness.
1979 M. B. Quinion Drink for its Time (Mus. Cider, Hereford) 13 Sometimes it used to be put back into the mill, re-ground with more water and re-pressed to make a much weaker cider.
1998 Daily Tel. 7 Dec. 3/3 He passed Senior Aircraftsman Stephen Wright a note advising him to have a haircut, repress his trousers, polish his boots and shave his sideburns.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1500
v.1c1391
v.21818