Definition
To suppress is to hold something down by force — sub, 'under', plus premere, 'to press'. Regimes suppress dissent, drugs suppress immune responses, people suppress smiles, memories, and grief. The press in the word never gets to rest, because suppression is not removal: what is held down remains, fully charged, directly under the hand that holds it. That is the word's standing warning — pressure is a debt, and what is suppressed in one place tends to surface in another.
Examples
- Suppressed for decades, the documents did not emerge until the trial.
- The drug suppresses the immune reaction that would reject the transplant.
- He suppressed a smile and pretended the news meant nothing to him.
Collocations
suppress dissent·suppress a smile·suppress the immune system·suppress evidence·suppress a rebellion
Synonyms
stifle·quash·restrain·smother·subdue
Antonyms
release·express·galvanize
Word family
suppression (noun)·suppressed (adjective)·suppressant (noun)
In TOEFL & IELTS
TOEFL biology tests immune suppression and appetite suppressants; history passages, the suppression of revolts and newspapers. For IELTS Speaking Part 3, suppressing versus expressing emotions is practically a stock question. Grammar point: suppress is always transitive — you suppress something (feelings, evidence, uprisings); it never stands alone.