Suppress Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

Britannica Dictionary definition of SUPPRESS

[+ object]

1

:

to end or stop (something) by force

• Political dissent was brutally suppressed.
• suppressing a rebellion

2

:

to keep (something) secret

:

to not allow people to know about or see (something)

• The governor tried to suppress the news.
• The judge may decide to suppress the evidence. [=to not allow the evidence to be used at a trial]
• She ordered the magazine (to be) suppressed.

3

a

:

to not allow yourself to feel, show, or be affected by (an emotion)

• He struggled to suppress his feelings of jealousy.
• She could not suppress her anger.
• I had to suppress an urge to tell him what I really thought.

b

:

to stop yourself from doing something (such as smiling, coughing, or laughing) that might bother other people

• I found it hard to suppress a smile [=to keep myself from smiling] when he told me about what happened.
• She tried to suppress a cough/laugh. [=she tried not to cough/laugh]

4

:

to slow or stop the growth, development, or normal functioning of (something)

• a drug that suppresses the immune system
• The pill works by suppressing your appetite.

— suppression

/səˈprɛʃən/

noun

[noncount]

• political suppression
• the suppression of evidence
• the suppression of your emotions
• appetite suppression