depress

depress: depress, weigh, oppress mean to put such pressure or such a load upon a thing or person as to cause it or him to sink under the weight.

Depress implies a lowering of something by the exertion of pressure or by an overburdening; it most commonly implies a lowering of spirits by physical or mental causes

{
the long dull evenings in these dull lodgings when one is weary with work depress one sadly— J. R. Green
}

{
the mere volume of work was enough to crush the most diligent of rulers and depress the most vital— Buchan
}

{
he was depressed by his failure— Anderson
}

It may suggest lowering of bodily vigor or the power of certain organs to function (as by a drug, a disease, or an external condition)

{
the drug aconite depresses heart action
}

In reference to other things (as market prices or social or cultural states) depress often suggests a lowering in activity, intensity, or vigor

{
the first effect of the World War was greatly to depress the prices of stocks
}

{
a grain market depressed by the existence of a large surplus
}

{
to depress the culture of the minority below the point at which a full understanding of poetry becomes possible— Day Lewis
}

Weigh in this relation is used with down, on, or upon and carries a weaker implication of the result or lowering than depress but a stronger implication of the difficulty or burdens imposed upon a person or thing

{
he is weighed down with cares
}

{
the responsibility weighs heavily upon him
}

{
Walter's mind had cleared itself of the depression which had weighed on him so heavily— Costain
}

{
a melancholy damp ... to weigh thy spirits down— Milton
}

Like weigh, oppress stresses the burden which is borne or is imposed and, like depress, the consequent ill effects (as the lowering of spirits or of power to function) or in its more common sense (see WRONG), a trampling down, a harassing, or a subjection to heavy penalties

{
the weary world of waters between us oppresses the imagination— Lamb
}

{
the butler, oppressed by the heat. . . was in a state of abstraction bordering on slumber— Shaw
}

{
she is so oppressed by fear that she may lose her mind
}

Analogous words: distress, *trouble, ail: *afflict, try, torment: *tire, weary, fatigue, exhaust, fag, jade, tucker

Antonyms: elate: cheer

Contrasted words: gladden, rejoice, delight, gratify, *please

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Synonyms:

Lower, detrude, drop, sink, bow, reduce, press down, let down, let fall, cast down, bring down / Degrade, humble, disgrace, humiliate, debase, abase, abash, bring low, take down / Discourage, dishearten, dispirit, deject, damp, dampen, chill, sadden, make sad, make despondent / Make dull (as trade), lower

Look at other dictionaries:

Depress — De*press , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Depressed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Depressing}.] [L. depressus, p. p. of deprimere; de + premere to press. See {Press}.] 1. To press down; to cause to sink; to let fall; to lower; as, to depress the muzzle of a gun; to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
depress — de‧press [dɪˈpres] verb [transitive] ECONOMICS 1. to prevent an economy, industry, market etc from working properly or being as active as it usually is: • Several factors combined to depress the American economy. • Overproduction was blamed for… … Financial and business terms
depress — [v1] deject, make despondent; exhaust abase, afflict, ail, bear down, beat, beat down*, bother, bug*, bum out*, cast down, chill*, cow*, damp, dampen, darken, daunt, debase, debilitate, degrade, desolate, devitalize, discourage, dishearten,… … New thesaurus
Depress — De*press , a. [L. depressus, p. p.] Having the middle lower than the border; concave. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] If the seal be depress or hollow. Hammond. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
depress — I verb abase, bring down, bring low, cause to sink, cheapen, dampen, darken, decline, decrease, deflate, deject, depreciate, deteriorate, devaluate, devalue, diminish, discourage, dispirit, drop, ebb, flatten, indent, lessen, lower, make… … Law dictionary
depress — early 14c., put down by force, from O.Fr. depresser, from L.L. depressare, frequentative of L. deprimere press down, from de down (see DE (Cf. de )) + premere to press (see PRESS (Cf. press) (v.1)) … Etymology dictionary
depress — ► VERB 1) cause to feel utterly dispirited or dejected. 2) reduce the level of activity in (a system). 3) push or pull down. ORIGIN Latin depressare, from deprimere press down … English terms dictionary
depress — [dē pres′, dipres′] vt. [ME depressen < OFr depresser < L depressus, pp. of deprimere, to press down, sink < de , down + premere, to PRESS1] 1. to press down; push or pull down; lower 2. to lower in spirits; make gloomy; discourage;… … English World dictionary
depress — transitive verb 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 Date: 14th century 1. obsolete repress, subjugate 2 … New Collegiate Dictionary
depress — de|press [dıˈpres] v [T] [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: depresser, from Latin premere to press ] 1.) to make someone feel very unhappy ▪ The thought of taking the exam again depressed him. ▪ It depresses me that nobody seems to care. 2.) … Dictionary of contemporary English

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