Library / English Dictionary

DEPRESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lessen the activity or force of

Example:

The rising inflation depressed the economy

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "depress" is one way to...):

weaken (lessen the strength of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Press down

Example:

Depress the space key

Synonyms:

depress; press down

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "depress" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

depression (pushing down)

depressor (a device used by physician to press a part down or aside)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cause to drop or sink

Example:

The lack of rain had depressed the water level in the reservoir

Synonyms:

depress; lower

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "depress" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

depressor (any skeletal muscle that draws a body part down)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Lower someone's spirits; make downhearted

Example:

The bad state of her child's health demoralizes her

Synonyms:

cast down; deject; demoralise; demoralize; depress; dismay; dispirit; get down

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "depress" is one way to...):

discourage (deprive of courage or hope; take away hope from; cause to feel discouraged)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "depress"):

chill (depress or discourage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The bad news will depress him

Antonym:

elate (fill with high spirits; fill with optimism)

Derivation:

depressant (a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person)

depressant (capable of depressing physiological or psychological activity or response by a chemical agent)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Lower (prices or markets)

Example:

The glut of oil depressed gas prices

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "depress" is one way to...):

bring down; get down; let down; lower; take down (move something or somebody to a lower position)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The results also suggest that babies of depressed mothers may show less evidence of learning because of a weakened neural connection between mother and infant.

(Mothers’ and babies’ brains ‘more in tune’ when mother is happy, University of Cambridge)

Researchers took blood samples from 11 pairs of identical twins with different sleep patterns and discovered that the twin with shorter sleep duration had a depressed immune system, compared with his or her sibling.

(Chronic Sleep Deprivation Suppresses Immune System, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Blood lead concentrations measured in more than 1,300 preschool children in China were associated with increased risk of behavioral and emotional problems, such as being anxious, depressed, or aggressive.

(Lead in kids’ blood linked with behavioral and emotional problems, NIH)

It’s thought that they are depressed because of their chronic illnesses.

(Anti-inflammatory Drugs Also Fight Depression, Voanews)

Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis (FAMS) Emotional Well-Being: I am depressed about my condition.

(FAMS - Depressed About My Condition, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual feels or felt depressed.

(Feel Depressed, NCI Thesaurus)

Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 (PHQ-9) Feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.

(PHQ-9 - Feeling Down, Depressed, or Hopeless, NCI Thesaurus)

Does he/she say that he/she feels sad or depressed?

(NPI - Seem Sad or Depressed, NCI Thesaurus)

My courage and my resolution is firm; but my hopes fluctuate, and my spirits are often depressed.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The atmosphere of the room was of a horrible and depressing stuffiness.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)