First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
depress
verb de·press \di-ˈpres, dē-\
: to make (someone) feel sad : to make (someone) depressed
: to decrease the activity or strength of (something)
: to press (something) down
Full Definition of DEPRESS
transitive verb
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
— de·press·ible \-ˈpre-sə-bəl\ adjective
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Origin of DEPRESS
Middle English, from Middle French depresser, from Latin depressus, past participle of deprimere to press down, from de- + premere to press — more at press
Related to DEPRESS
Rhymes with DEPRESS
abscess, access, address, aggress, assess, bench-press, caress, clothespress, coatdress, cold-press, compress, confess, cross-dress, CS, de-stress, digress, distress, drill press, egress, excess, express, finesse, fluoresce, French press, full-dress, handpress, headdress, housedress, idlesse, impress, ingress, Meknes, much less, nightdress, noblesse, no less, obsess, oppress, outguess, possess, precess, prestress, princess, process, profess, progress, recess, redress, regress, re-press, repress, shirtdress, side-dress, SS, success, sundress, suppress, tendresse, top-dress, transgress, undress, unless, web press, winepress, word stress
DEPRESSES Defined for Kids
depress
verb de·press \di-ˈpres\
de·pressedde·press·ing
Definition of DEPRESS for Kids
1
: to press down <Depress the “enter” key.>
2
: to make sad or discouraged <Don't let the news depress you.>
3
: to lessen the activity or strength of <Bad weather had depressed sales.>
Medical Dictionary
depress
transitive verb de·press \di-ˈpres\
Medical Definition of DEPRESS
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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