repress

 
Pronunciation: /rɪˈprɛs/

verb

[with object]
  • subdue (someone or something) by force: the uprisings were repressed
  • restrain, prevent, or inhibit (the expression or development of something): Isabel couldn’t repress a sharp cry of fear
  • suppress (a thought or desire) so that it becomes or remains unconscious: the thought that he had killed his brother was so terrible that he repressed it
  • Biology prevent the transcription of (a gene).

Derivatives

represser

noun

repressible

adjective

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'keep back something objectionable'): from Latin repress- 'pressed back, checked', from the verb reprimere, from re- 'back' + premere 'to press'