repress
/ɹəˈpɹɛs/verb, noun
repress is spelled R-E-P-R-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, repress means “To forcefully prevent an upheaval from developing further” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in repress?
| Letters | 7: R-E-P-R-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is repress?
Repress appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce repress?
- /ɹəˈpɹɛs/
Repress has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-repress.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with repress?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as repress.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: presser.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of repress
- represses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- repressing participle, present
- repressed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does repress mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To forcefully prevent an upheaval from developing further.
to repress rebellion or sedition
- 2
To check; to keep back.
- 3
To press again.
to repress a vinyl record
noun
- 1
A record pressed again; a repressing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Repress in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réprimer, opprimer , retenir , represser |
| German | zurückdrängen, unterbinden, unterdrücken |
| Portuguese | reprimir |
| Spanish | reprimir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does repress come from?
Ultimately from Latin repressus, the perfect passive participle of reprimō (“to repress”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).