Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To lower in spirits; deject.
  • transitive verb To cause to drop or sink; lower.
  • transitive verb To press down.
  • transitive verb To lessen the activity or force of; weaken.
  • transitive verb To lower prices in (a financial market).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pressed down; hollow in the center; concave.
  • To press or move downward; make lower; bring to a lower level: as, to depress the muzzle of a gun; to depress the eye.
  • To force or keep down; cause to fall to or remain in a low or lower condition; lower in vigor, amount, estimation, etc.: as, to depress stocks or the price of merchandise; business is depressed.
  • To weigh upon; lower in feeling; make dull or languid; deject.
  • To depreciate; rate meanly; belittle.
  • To repress.
  • In algebra, to reduce to a lower degree, as an equation.
  • To reduce to subjection; overpower.
  • To pardon; release; let go.
  • To cast down, discourage, dishearten, dispirit, chill, dampen.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Having the middle lower than the border; concave.
  • transitive verb To press down; to cause to sink; to let fall; to lower
  • transitive verb To bring down or humble; to abase, as pride.
  • transitive verb To cast a gloom upon; to sadden.
  • transitive verb To lessen the activity of; to make dull; embarrass, as trade, commerce, etc.
  • transitive verb To lessen in price; to cause to decline in value; to cheapen; to depreciate.
  • transitive verb (Math.) To reduce (an equation) in a lower degree.
  • transitive verb (Naut.) to cause the sidereal pole to appear lower or nearer the horizon, as by sailing toward the equator.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To press down on
  • verb To make depressed, sad or bored.
  • verb To cause a depression or a decrease in parts of the economy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb lessen the activity or force of
  • verb lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
  • verb cause to drop or sink
  • verb lower (prices or markets)
  • verb press down

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English depressen, to push down, from Old French depresser, from Latin dēprimere, dēpress- : dē-, de- + premere, to press; see per- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English depressen, from Old French depresser, from Latin depressus, perfect participle of dēprimō ("to press down"), from de ("down") + premere ("to press").

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Examples

  • With the new load of fifth-graders, plus the fourth-graders, Schaeffler anticipates an increased number of low-performing students that may again depress average scores.

    KIPP DC leaders unworried by drop in test scores Jay Mathews 2010

  • With the new load of fifth graders plus the fourth graders, Schaeffler anticipates an increased number of low-performing students that may again depress average scores.

    KIPP leaders unworried by test score drop Jay Mathews 2010

  • With the new load of fifth-graders, plus the fourth-graders, Schaeffler anticipates an increased number of low-performing students that may again depress average scores.

    KIPP DC leaders unworried by drop in test scores Jay Mathews 2010

  • As an Obama supporter, surveys like this kind of depress me.

    Zogby: Dead Heat In Pennsylvania 2009

  • If you interview a lot of conservative Democrats, even in states like Texas, you know, New Mexico, they are very concerned that Hillary Clinton on the top of the ticket would really kind of depress voter turnout and ultimately affect a lot of down ballot races.

    CNN Transcript Apr 18, 2008 2008

  • When we do not identify and express, and instead "depress," these feelings, the end result is the emotional fog and lethargy that people routinely label "depression."

    Americans Are In Pain 2007

  • Just as a word such as depress can be used to talk about either physical depression or emotional depression, words such as win or lose can be used to talk about arguments, wars, gambling, and romances, with no necessary implication that any one of these domains provides the conceptual underpinning for any or all of the others.

    Archive 2004-11-01 Chris 2004

  • Just as a word such as depress can be used to talk about either physical depression or emotional depression, words such as win or lose can be used to talk about arguments, wars, gambling, and romances, with no necessary implication that any one of these domains provides the conceptual underpinning for any or all of the others.

    Idioms, Metaphors, and Lakoff, Oh My! Chris 2004

  • Acting on his principles, Mr. Newman refuses to "depress" his conscience (as he says) to the Bible standard.

    The Eclipse of Faith Or, A Visit To A Religious Sceptic Henry Rogers 1841

  • Finding that they conclusively confuted one another, and perceiving at last that the idea of the superhuman origin of Christianity did, and, as Bishop Butler says, alone can resolve all the difficulties of the subject, I was compelled to forego all the advantages of infidelity, and condescended to "depress" my conscience to the "Biblical standard"!

    The Eclipse of Faith Or, A Visit To A Religious Sceptic Henry Rogers 1841

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