Word
depress
Phoneticsde·press, stress on the second syllable
US/dɪˈpɹɛs/
UK/dɪpɹˈɛs/
Definition
v. to make something feel sad or to cause a country's economy to grow very slowly. In math, it means to lower the value of a number or a graph.
v. to cause a state of low spirits or to cause a decline in economic activity; in a mathematical context, to reduce the value of a variable or to lower the position of a graph.
Examples
“The news of the job loss began to depress the local economy.”
“The central bank raised interest rates to prevent the housing market from further depressing the national economy.”
“In linear algebra, the matrix is designed to depress the eigenvalues of the system, effectively stabilizing the output over time.”
Examples
simple
“The news of the job loss began to depress the local economy.”
contextual
“The central bank raised interest rates to prevent the housing market from further depressing the national economy.”
complex
“In linear algebra, the matrix is designed to depress the eigenvalues of the system, effectively stabilizing the output over time.”
Real-World Examples
“It depresses me to share that one of my fellow lesbians could be so silly, but the truth must be faced, and in 1923, Rotha Lintorn-Orman founded the first British fascist movement.” “It activates the appropriate side when pushed either left or right, but shutting them off requires you to depress the switch while it’s centered, which I found a bit tricky to get right.” Etymology
From Middle English depressen, from Old French depresser, from Latin dēpressus, perfect participle of dēprimō (“to press down, to weigh down”), from dē- (“off, away, down, out”) + premō (“to press”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/depress