Etymology : Middle English, from Latin suppressus, past participle of supprimere, from sub- + premere to press; more at PRESS
Pronunciation : s&-'pres
Function : transitive verb
Date : 14th century
1. crush, stop by force, put down; repress, hold back, stifle; silence, prevent from being disclosed; block, arrest, check (i.e. a flow of blood, etc.). suppress\sup*press"\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. suppressed ; p. pr. & vb. n. suppressing.] [l. suppressus, p. p. of supprimere to suppress; sub under + premere, pressum, to press. see:
sub-, and press.].
2. to overpower and crush; to subdue; to put down; to quell. every rebellion, when it is suppressed, doth make the subject weaker, and the prince stronger. davies.
3. to keep in; to restrain from utterance or vent; as, to suppress the voice; to suppress a smile. w. scott.
4. to retain without disclosure; to conceal; not to reveal; to prevent publication of; as, to suppress evidence; to suppress a pamphlet; to suppress the truth. she suppresses the name, and this keeps him in a pleasing suspense.
5. to stop; to restrain; to arrest the discharges of; as, to suppress a diarrhea, or a hemorrhage.
6. To overpower and crush; to subdue; to put down; to quell.
7. To keep in; to restrain from utterance or vent; as, to suppress the voice; to suppress a smile.
8. To retain without disclosure; to conceal; not to reveal; to prevent publication of; as, to suppress evidence; to suppress a pamphlet; to suppress the truth.
9. To stop; to restrain; to arrest the discharges of; as, to suppress a diarrhea, or a hemorrhage. to put down by force or authority; "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires" put out of one's consciousness.
10. 1. If someone in authority suppresses an activity, they prevent it from continuing, by using force or making it illegal. drug traffickers, who continue to flourish despite international attempts to suppress them nationwide demonstrations for democracy, suppressed after 7 weeks by the army. + suppression sup·pres·sion people who were imprisoned after the violent suppression of the pro-democracy movement protests.
11. If a natural function or reaction of your body is suppressed, it is stopped, for example by drugs or illness. The reproduction and growth of the cancerous cells can be suppressed by bombarding them with radiation. + suppression sup·pres·sion Eye problems can indicate an unhealthy lifestyle with subsequent suppression of the immune system.
12. If you suppress your feelings or reactions, you do not express them, even though you might want to. Liz thought of Barry and suppressed a smile The Professor said that deep sleep allowed suppressed anxieties to surface. + suppression sup·pres·sion A mother's suppression of her own feelings can cause problems.
13. If someone suppresses a piece of information, they prevent other people from learning it. At no time did they try to persuade me to suppress the information + suppression sup·pres·sion The inspectors found no evidence which supported any allegation of suppression of official documents.
14. If someone or something suppresses a process or activity, they stop it continuing or developing. `The Government is suppressing inflation by devastating the economy,' he said.