Difference between suppress/repress
Hi!
I was checking the meaning of the verbs suppress and repress when referred to feelings.
I read somewhere that they are synonyms, but finally came to the conclusion that they aren’t interchangeable.
Am I right?
The definitions I found in Merriam-Webster Dictionary are:
suppress: to not allow yourself to feel, show, or be affected by (an emotion)
Ex.: He struggled to suppress his feelings of jealousy.
repress: to not allow yourself to do or express (something)
Ex.: She repressed a laugh. [=she stopped herself from laughing]
Top answer
"Repress" has become strongly associated with psychological issues and is usually heard only in this sense: He tried to repress the memories of his unhappy childhood. ) "Suppress" is typically used only in the sense of quashing opposition or rebellion, or in physical situations. For example: The government brutally suppressed the rebellion.
- "Repress" has become strongly associated with psychological issues and is usually heard only in this sense: He tried to repress the memories of his unhappy childhood.
- ) "Suppress" is typically used only in the sense of quashing opposition or rebellion, or in physical situations.
- For example: The government brutally suppressed the rebellion.
- ) All opposition was immediately suppressed as soon as it appeared.
- ) He tried to suppress a laugh/cough/smile but it came out anyway.
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"Repress" has become strongly associated with psychological issues and is usually heard only in this sense:
He tried to repress the memories of his unhappy childhood. ("Suppress" would not be used here.)
"Suppress" is typically used only in the sense of quashing opposition or rebellion, or in physical situations. For example:
The government brutally suppresse
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