irrepressible

[ ir-i-pres-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. incapable of being repressed or restrained; uncontrollable:

   irrepressible laughter.

irrepressible

/ ˌɪrɪˈprɛsəbəl /

adjective

1. not capable of being repressed, controlled, or restrained

Derived Forms

• ˌirreˈpressibly, adverb
• ˌirreˌpressiˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• irre·pressi·bili·ty irre·pressi·ble·ness noun
• irre·pressi·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of irrepressible¹

First recorded in 1805–15; ir- ² + repressible ( def )

Example Sentences

The next day I met with my colleagues, a team of Ukrainian journalists lead by the irrepressible Natalia Gumenyuk, in Kyiv’s only open restaurant.

From Time

Based on the audience reaction, unchecked glee, it’s likely that this irrepressible pair will eventually reunite.

From Time

He’s young, so young his grandmother calls the mustache forming on his upper lip “dirt,” and he maintains an irrepressible smile full of green braces, even though the underlying event here—Arbery’s death—is grim.

From Time

The exhibition, organized by curator Molly Donovan and drawing heavily on works donated by the irrepressible collectors Dorothy and Herbert Vogel, was lightly traveled when I saw it earlier this month.

From Washington Post

My Unorthodox Life, whose nine-episode first season just arrived on the service, is yet another story of an irrepressible woman escaping her ultra-Orthodox prison.

From Time

Suppressed, banned, scorned—it seems to speak to something within the human mind (or soul, if you like) that is irrepressible.

From The Daily Beast

From a production standpoint, most of Napa has been lucky and irrepressible in the aftermath.

From The Daily Beast

He was grounded for a few days, but fortunately for us, and for politics, his irrepressible good humor could not be squelched.

From The Daily Beast

Then Germany scored first, in the 11th minute, through the irrepressible Thomas Müller.

From The Daily Beast

And now all of a sudden I find myself consumed by an immense, irrepressible wrath.

From The Daily Beast

Thus was he spared the look of utter loathing, of unconquerable, irrepressible disgust that leapt into her countenance.

From Project Gutenberg

It was Jenny's sympathy on this first night, when awakened by Ruth's irrepressible agony, that had made the bond between them.

From Project Gutenberg

She had an irrepressible longing for a few minutes' change of scene after her night of watching.

From Project Gutenberg

Prince Waldemar broke into an irrepressible fit of laughter and clapped Kaulmann on the shoulder.

From Project Gutenberg

That struggle is an irrepressible conflict existing in all nature, and from which man cannot escape.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• boisterous
• buoyant
• ebullient
• exuberant
• rebellious
• uncontrollable
• unrestrained
• unstoppable