depress

verb de·press \di-ˈpres, dē-\

: to make (someone) feel sad : to make (someone) depressed

: to decrease the activity or strength of (something)

: to press (something) down

Full Definition of DEPRESS

transitive verb

obsolete : repress, subjugate

a : to press down <depress a typewriter key>

b : to cause to sink to a lower position

: to lessen the activity or strength of <drugs that may depress the appetite>

: sadden, discourage <don't let the news depress you>

: to decrease the market value or marketability of

— de·press·ible \-ˈpre-sə-bəl\ adjective

See depress defined for English-language learners

See depress defined for kids

Origin of DEPRESS

Middle English, from Middle French depresser, from Latin depressus, past participle of deprimere to press down, from de- + premere to press — more at press

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DEPRESS

Synonyms: bum (out), burden, dash, deject, get down, oppress, sadden, weigh down

Antonyms: brighten, buoy, cheer (up), gladden, lighten, rejoice

Rhymes with DEPRESS

abscess, access, address, aggress, assess, bench-press, caress, clothespress, coatdress, cold-press, compress, confess, cross-dress, CS, de-stress, digress, distress, drill press, egress, excess, express, finesse, fluoresce, French press, full-dress, handpress, headdress, housedress, idlesse, impress, ingress, Meknes, much less, nightdress, noblesse, no less, obsess, oppress, outguess, possess, precess, prestress, princess, process, profess, progress, recess, redress, regress, re-press, repress, shirtdress, side-dress, SS, success, sundress, suppress, tendresse, top-dress, transgress, undress, unless, web press, winepress, word stress

DEPRESSES Defined for Kids

depress

verb de·press \di-ˈpres\

de·pressedde·press·ing

Definition of DEPRESS for Kids

: to press down <Depress the “enter” key.>

: to make sad or discouraged <Don't let the news depress you.>

: to lessen the activity or strength of <Bad weather had depressed sales.>

Medical Dictionary

depress

transitive verb de·press \di-ˈpres\

Medical Definition of DEPRESS

: to diminish the activity, strength, or yield of <able to depress irritability of the heart muscle by the use of such a drug as procaine>

: to lower in spirit or mood

Learn More About DEPRESS

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for "depress"

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "depress"

Nglish: Translation of "depress" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "depress" for Arabic speakers

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