repress
v.to stop yourself from showing a feeling or an emotion. It can also mean to use force to stop people from doing something or saying something.
v.to suppress or inhibit an emotion, desire, or thought; to use force to prevent the expression of political or social dissent. Transitive — requires a direct object.
“She tried to repress her anger during the meeting.”
“The government used the new law to repress any public discussion about the upcoming election.”
“Psychologists argue that while repressing negative memories might provide short-term relief, it often leads to long-term psychological distress and a lack of emotional clarity.”
“In the days since losing contact, Akash has cried – as a psychology student, he knows not to repress his emotions – but he has also tried to keep going.”
Ultimately from Latin repressus, the perfect passive participle of reprimō (“I repress”).
From re- + press.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.