[syn: press down, depress]
5. lessen the activity or force of;
- Example: "The rising inflation depressed the economy"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Depress \De*press"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Depressed; p. pr. &
vb. n. Depressing.] [L. depressus, p. p. of deprimere; de-
+ premere to press. See Press.]
1. To press down; to cause to sink; to let fall; to lower;
as, to depress the muzzle of a gun; to depress the eyes.
"With lips depressed." --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
2. To bring down or humble; to abase, as pride.
[1913 Webster]
3. To cast a gloom upon; to sadden; as, his spirits were
depressed.
[1913 Webster]
4. To lessen the activity of; to make dull; embarrass, as
trade, commerce, etc.
[1913 Webster]
5. To lessen in price; to cause to decline in value; to
cheapen; to depreciate.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Math.) To reduce (an equation) in a lower degree.
[1913 Webster]
To depress the pole (Naut.), to cause the sidereal pole to
appear lower or nearer the horizon, as by sailing toward
the equator.
Syn: To sink; lower; abase; cast down; deject; humble;
degrade; dispirit; discourage.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Depress \De*press"\, a. [L. depressus, p. p.]
Having the middle lower than the border; concave. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
If the seal be depress or hollow. --Hammond.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
depress
v 1: lower someone's spirits; make downhearted; "These news
depressed her"; "The bad state of her child's health
demoralizes her" [syn: depress, deject, cast down,
get down, dismay, dispirit, demoralize,
demoralise] [ant: elate, intoxicate, lift up, pick
up, uplift]
2: lower (prices or markets); "The glut of oil depressed gas
prices"
3: cause to drop or sink; "The lack of rain had depressed the
water level in the reservoir" [syn: lower, depress]
4: press down; "Depress the space key" [syn: press down,
depress]
5: lessen the activity or force of; "The rising inflation
depressed the economy"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
98 Moby Thesaurus words for "depress":
abridge, bear down, beat down, bring down, bring low, burden,
cast down, cheapen, compress, couch, countersink, curtail, cut,
cut back, cut down, damp, dampen, dampen the spirits, darken, dash,
debase, debilitate, decrease, deduct, deepen, deflate, deject,
demit, dent, depreciate, detrude, devaluate, devalue, dig,
diminish, dimple, dint, discourage, dishearten, dispirit, dive,
downbear, downgrade, drill, droop, dull, enervate, engrave,
excavate, grieve, haul down, impress, imprint, indent, knock down,
lessen, let, let down, lower, lower the spirits, mine, notch,
oppress, pare, pit, pock, pockmark, press down, press in,
pull down, punch, punch in, push down, recess, reduce, retrench,
roll back, sadden, sap, scale down, set back, set in, shorten,
simplify, sink, stamp, step down, take down, take from, tamp,
thrust down, tune down, tunnel, upset, weaken, weigh down,
weigh heavy upon, weigh upon