depressing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- depressingly adverb
- nondepressing adjective
- nondepressingly adverb
- undepressing adjective
Etymology
Origin of depressing
Explanation
Depressing things make you feel sad or inadequate, possibly because they serve as reminders of weaknesses or defects. For example, it can be depressing to be around a happy family when all your relatives are fighting with each other. If a friend acts as if something is depressing him, you might ask, "What's bringing you down?" In fact depress comes from the Latin word depremere, meaning "to press down." Depressing things make you feel like your spirits are low or your heart is heavy. Something depressing weighs you down, just as something happy tends to boost you or make you feel like you are flying high.
Vocabulary lists containing depressing
The Dead and the Gone
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Better Nate Than Ever
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Louder than Hunger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Avital organises events for her university's Jewish Society and says she finds it depressing that their social events require security.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
J. Henry Waugh is a middle-aged accountant who lives alone in a depressing apartment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Can you talk about why art that deals with depressing and scary situations can actually make us feel happier at times?
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
As they exit the workforce, their pay dips sharply, depressing the average inflation-adjusted disposable personal income.
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
But Violet and I literally ran into the depressing, irrefutable PG-rated evidence of Phil’s and Lisa’s still-kissing coupledom.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
