EN

Synonyms for suppress

  • verb

Most common

repress subdue inhibit stifle quash eliminate stem oppress

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Repress — to restrain or repress, such as laughter or an expression

repress, subdue, inhibit, stifle, restrain, abate, quell, stop, smother, withhold, curtail, quench, conceal, dampen, hide, keep, extinguish, check, contain, overwhelm, keep back, hold back

2. Quash — to put an end to, especially with force, to crush, do away with; to prohibit, subdue

quash, eliminate, abolish, vitiate, squash, annihilate

3. Stem — to stop a flow or stream

stem, clamp off, staunch, stanch US, dam

4. Oppress

oppress, crush

Other

conquer, bottle up

Antonyms

enliven, elicit, disseminate

All antonyms of suppress →

Definitions

  1. v. 1

    To put an end to, especially with force, to crush, do away with; to prohibit, subdue.

    Political dissent was brutally suppressed.

  2. v. 2

    To restrain or repress, such as laughter or an expression.

    I struggled to suppress my smile.

  3. v. 3

    To stop a flow or stream.

    Hot blackcurrant juice mixed with honey may suppress cough.

  4. v. 4

    To exclude undesirable thoughts from one's mind.

    He unconsciously suppressed his memories of abuse.

Related words

Word family
suppression suppressive suppressor

Forms

Past participle
suppressed
e.g. suppressed → repressed, subdued, inhibited, stifled…

Choose the right word

Suppress, Abate or Terminate?

We abate a nuisance, terminate a controversy, suppress a rebellion.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • inhibit He noticed that this drug seemed to inhibit bacterial growth.
  • subdue The police used tear gas to subdue the protestors.
  • stifle Sami stuffed a bag inside Layla's mouth to stifle her.
  • repress He tried to to repress his anger during the meeting.
  • eliminate Algeria needs to eliminate its endemic corruption.
  • quash The CEO is trying to quash these unfounded rumors about a merger.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
suppresssteady
inhibitsteady
subduerising
stiflerising
repressrising
eliminatefalling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
dam1
4 letters
keep1, stop1, hide1, stem1
5 letters
check1, crush1, quell1, quash1, abate2
6 letters
squash1, subdue2, stifle2, quench1, dampen2, stanch1
7 letters
contain2, conquer2, conceal2, abolish3, inhibit3, staunch1, curtail2, smother2, oppress2, repress2, vitiate3
8 letters
restrain2, withhold2
9 letters
eliminate4, overwhelm3
10 letters
extinguish3, annihilate4

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (abate2 = 2 syllables).