suppression

[ suh-presh-uhn ]

noun

1. the act of suppressing.
2. the state of being suppressed.
3. Psychoanalysis. conscious inhibition of an impulse.
4. Botany. the absence of parts normally or usually present due to the action of frost, disease, or insects.
5. Radio, Electronics. the elimination of a component of a varying emission, as the elimination of a frequency or group of frequencies from a signal.
6. Electricity. the reduction or elimination of irregular current oscillations or frequencies in a circuit.

suppression

/ səˈprɛʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of suppressing or the condition of being suppressed
2. psychoanal the conscious avoidance of unpleasant thoughts Compare repression
3. electronics the act or process of suppressing a frequency, oscillation, etc
4. biology the failure of an organ or part to develop
5. med the cessation of any physiological process

Other Words From

• nonsup·pression noun
• resup·pression noun
• self-sup·pression noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of suppression¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin suppressiōn-, stem of suppressiō “a pressing under”; equivalent to suppress + -ion

Example Sentences

There are rumors and reports that senior military leaders are having informal discussions about what to do if President Trump issues illegal or unconstitutional orders regarding the suppression of dissent, the occupation of American cities, the execution of his plans for mass deportation or other efforts to crush “the enemy within.”

From Salon

This has been around at least since the 1960s, when former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist was involved in “Operation Eagle Eye,” a Republican voter suppression operation in Arizona.

From Salon

The popular vote win "once again another indication that the idea that Trump can only win through voter suppression or some kind of institutional failure is unfounded," Fraga said.

From Salon

Screams of voter suppression and rigging the election are co-mingling with accusations that Attorney General Merrick Garland slow-walked the federal prosecutions against Trump and condemnation of Senator Mitch McConnell for failing to vote for a conviction during Trump’s second impeachment.

From Salon

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, while Amnesty International has cited the country’s "jailing of women's rights activists, suppression of free speech and rampant use of the death penalty".

From BBC

Related Words

• elimination
• overthrow