to subdue (somebody or something) by force
They moved quickly to repress the insurrection
to prevent the natural or normal expression of (e.g. an emotion)
to exclude (e.g. a feeling) from consciousness by psychological repression: compare suppress
to prevent the normal activity or development of (a person)
to hold (something) in check
to inactivate (a gene) reversibly by inhibiting or blocking normal action
represser noun
repressible adj
[Middle English repressen from Latin repressus, past part. of reprimere to check, literally ‘to press back’, from re- + premere to press1]