repressed

[ ri-prest ]

adjective

1. subjected to, affected by, or characteristic of psychological repression:

   repressed emotional conflicts.

Other Words From

• nonre·pressed adjective
• unre·pressed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of repressed¹

First recorded in 1900–05; repress + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Freud called the phenomenon these comic writers mined the return of the repressed, and it became 20th-century horror’s greatest trick.

From Slate

Sometimes the repressed returns almost immediately.

From Slate

But usually the repressed took a few years to claw its way to the surface.

From Slate

If horror is about being unable to escape the repressed sins of the past, then it’s no wonder the 2024 presidential election feels as if we’re living in a horror movie.

From Slate

Jones adds that when he first picked up the novel Interview with the Vampire, "it seemed to me what I was reading was this really repressed and really messy love story."

From BBC

Related Words

• barred
• blocked
• closed
• confined
• controlled
• defined
• deprived
• prescribed
• reduced
• restrained
• secured
• shortened
• tethered