suppression
Keeping something down
Suppression is the act of putting down or preventing something from emerging.
Governments suppress dissent; armies suppress rebellions.
A person may suppress emotions, keeping them from surfacing: She suppressed a laugh.
In medicine, suppression refers to blocking a bodily function or symptom.
Fire suppression systems prevent flames from spreading.
The word suggests forceful restraint—something actively held back that would otherwise express itself.
Suppress or restrain
- muffleDeaden or suppress sound
- muteWithout voice or sound
- hushAbsence of sound
- gagMouth restraint or jest
smother · quash · squelch · dampen · muzzle · shush · quiet · clamp-down
Ability to restrain impulses
- willpowerMental strength resisting impulse
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
- disciplineTrained self-control or specialty
- moderationAvoidance of excess
temperance · constraint · forbearance · reserve · composure · stoicism · abstinence · curbing
Oppressive, absolute governance
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
subjugation · domination · dissent · crackdown · junta · purge · dissident · protest
Refusal to accept reality
- inhibitionMental check on behavior
- subconsciousBelow conscious awareness
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
Freud · unconscious · displacement · sublimation · dissociation · avoidance · blocked · buried
End combustion forcibly
- smotherDeprive of air
- firebreakCleared barrier against flames
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
- dousingWetting completely, suddenly
retardant · sprinkler · foam · blanket · starve · oxygen · flames · wildfire
Mental check on behavior
- neurotransmitterSynaptic chemical messenger
- cortisolAdrenal steroid regulating stress
- immuneProtected from harm
- inflammationProtective tissue response
hormone · receptor · dopamine · serotonin · appetite · reflex · neural · metabolic
Obscuring sensitive text
- banOfficial restriction on something
- censorOne who suppresses content
- forbiddenNot allowed
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
blacklist · book-burning · expurgate · bowdlerize · proscription · sanitization · classified · restricted
Combating armed rebellion tactics
- pacificationRestoring calm after conflict
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
- guerrillaIrregular armed fighter
uprising · revolt · resistance · occupation · curfew · siege · blockade
stifle
Suppress or restrain
gag · smother · quash · squelch · dampen · muzzle · shush · quiet · clamp-down · voice
self-control
Ability to restrain impulses
- willpowerMental strength resisting impulse
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
- disciplineTrained self-control or specialty
moderation · temperance · constraint · forbearance · reserve · composure · stoicism · abstinence · curbing · checking
tyranny
Oppressive, absolute governance
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
despotism · subjugation · domination · dissent · crackdown · junta · purge · dissident · protest · uprising
denial
Refusal to accept reality
- inhibitionMental check on behavior
- subconsciousBelow conscious awareness
- traumaLasting psychological wound
anxiety · Freud · unconscious · displacement · sublimation · dissociation · avoidance · blocked · buried · emotional
extinguish
End combustion forcibly
- smotherDeprive of air
- firebreakCleared barrier against flames
- containmentPreventing hostile expansion
dousing · retardant · sprinkler · foam · blanket · starve · oxygen · flames · wildfire
inhibition
Mental check on behavior
- neurotransmitterSynaptic chemical messenger
- cortisolAdrenal steroid regulating stress
- immuneProtected from harm
inflammation · hormone · receptor · dopamine · serotonin · appetite · reflex · neural · metabolic · adrenal
redaction
Obscuring sensitive text
taboo · blacklist · book-burning · expurgate · bowdlerize · proscription · sanitization · classified · restricted · embargo
counterinsurgency
Combating armed rebellion tactics
- pacificationRestoring calm after conflict
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
guerrilla · uprising · revolt · resistance · occupation · curfew · siege · blockade
- restrictionsban, bans, limits, limit, restrictions
- authoritarianismautocracy, absolutism, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism
- media regulationcensorship, content moderation, press censorship, film censorship, art censorship
- emotional laboremotional support, emotional regulation, masking, comforting, consoling
- downregulationinhibition, silencing, attenuation, negative feedback, dampening
- emotional numbnessnumbness, flat affect, emptiness, apathy, hollowness
suppressionrelease
To let go
encouragement · expression · promotion · facilitation · enablement
suppressionrevelation
Surprising disclosed truth
disclosure · publication · exposure · divulgence · candor
suppressionfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberation · liberty · emancipation · tolerance · enfranchisement
- vote suppressionDiscouraging or preventing casting ballots
- voter suppressionTactics discouraging ballot access
- fire suppressionControlling or eliminating flames
- suppressing fireGunfire restricting enemy movement
- wage suppressionArtificially limiting worker compensation
- suppressive fireShooting to restrict enemy movement
suppressing, suppressive, suppressible, suppressions, unsuppressible