depress

verb

de·​press di-ˈpres 

dē-

depressed; depressing; depresses

transitive verb

1

obsolete : repress, subjugate

2

a

: to press down

depress a typewriter key

b

: to cause to sink to a lower position

3

: to lessen the activity or strength of

drugs that may depress the appetite

4

: sadden, discourage

don't let the news depress you

5

: to decrease the market value or marketability of

depressible

di-ˈpre-sə-bəl 

dē-

adjective

Synonyms

• bum (out)
• burden
• dash
• deject
• get down
• oppress
• sadden
• weigh down

Examples of depress in a Sentence

The news seemed to depress him a little.

I don't mean to depress you, but there's no way we can win.

We were all depressed by the loss.

You shouldn't let this kind of problem depress you.

These changes could depress the economy.

Market conditions are likely to depress earnings in the next quarter.

depressing the price of a stock

Slowly depress the car's brake pedal.

Depress the “shift” key on your keyboard.

The doctor will depress your tongue and look at your throat.

Recent Examples on the Web

This has depressed the value of the renminbi, particularly in less regulated trading outside of mainland China. —Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025

All of his numbers are depressed compared to other Oilers due to very little time with McDavid and Draisaitl. —Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025

There is growing evidence, for example, that credit scores depressed by medical debt can threaten people's access to housing and drive homelessness. —Noam Levey, NPR, 7 Jan. 2025

Chiles and MacKay first took office in the headwinds of a national recession that depressed Florida’s sales tax receipts and forced severe and unpopular budget cuts. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French depresser, from Latin depressus, past participle of deprimere to press down, from de- + premere to press — more at press

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

depress

verb

de·​press di-ˈpres 

1

a

: to press down

b

: to cause to sink to a lower position

2

: to lessen the activity or strength of

3

: sadden, discourage

4

: to lessen in price or value : depreciate

depressible

-ə-bəl 

adjective

depressingly

-iŋ-lē

adverb

Medical Definition

depress

transitive verb

de·​press di-ˈpres 

1

: to diminish the activity, strength, or yield of

able to depress irritability of the heart muscle by the use of such a drug as procaine

2

: to lower in spirit or mood