depressed; depressing; depresses
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
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
In February, the Yale University Budget Lab estimated that the Canadian and Mexican tariffs could depress average U.S. incomes by $1,170 to $1,245 a year.
—
Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
The first four were not renewed, while the last two depressed the financial market for the sport, helping to place it in this ESPN conundrum.
—Andrew Marchand, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
The group warns the mandate could depress auto sales in California — as well as in other states that adopt its rules.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 6 Feb. 2025
That’s a recipe to depress economic activity, increase automobile prices and obliterate customer choice.
—John Bozzella, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
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Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025
The first four were not renewed, while the last two depressed the financial market for the sport, helping to place it in this ESPN conundrum.
—Andrew Marchand, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
The group warns the mandate could depress auto sales in California — as well as in other states that adopt its rules.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 6 Feb. 2025
That’s a recipe to depress economic activity, increase automobile prices and obliterate customer choice.
—John Bozzella, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for depress
Cite this Entry
“Depress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depress. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
depressingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
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
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