depress

depress — verb

1. to make someone feel very sad, discouraged, or lacking in energy and hope

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to make someone feel very sad, discouraged, or lacking in energy and hope

Example

The news of his uncle's illness depressed Bilal for several weeks.

Watching the rain fall all afternoon depressed the children, who had planned to play outside.

depress + person affected by a situation

Common collocations
  • deeply depress
  • visibly depressed
  • depress someone's spirits
  • depress the mood
  • depressed by the news
Synonyms
  • sadden

    similar meaning but less intense and more temporary; 'sadden' does not imply loss of hope

  • discourage

    focuses on loss of confidence or willingness to act, not necessarily sadness

  • dishearten

    more formal; emphasises loss of hope or enthusiasm over sadness

  • weigh down

    phrasal verb; suggests a gradual, heavy feeling rather than a sudden emotion

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

depress + object (person)

Usage Note

Commonly used in the passive voice ('be depressed by') to describe a lasting emotional state rather than a temporary reaction. Distinguished from sense 1 of 'sadden' by implying a deeper or longer-lasting lowering of mood.

Common Mistakes

The movie depressed me boring.
The movie depressed me because it was boring.
'depress' is not followed by a bare adjective; use a clause or a separate sentence.
I depressed after hearing the news.
I was depressed after hearing the news.
'depressed' as an adjective requires a form of 'be'; the verb 'depress' needs an object.

2. to cause the value of money, shares, prices, or other financial measures to fall

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to cause the value of money, shares, prices, or other financial measures to fall

Example

The strong dollar depressed the value of the yen against other major currencies.

Low consumer demand has depressed house prices across the entire region.

depress + prices (financial context)

Common collocations
  • depress prices
  • depress the value
  • depress the market
  • depress shares
  • depress the currency
  • depress earnings
Synonyms
  • devalue

    more specific; usually refers to official reduction of a currency's value by government action

  • lower

    broader and less formal; can refer to any reduction, not just financial

  • reduce

    neutral; does not carry the negative connotation of unfair or artificial lowering

  • undermine

    suggests gradual erosion of value through loss of confidence

Antonyms
  • raise

    to increase the value of something

  • boost

    to increase or improve something, especially prices or value

Grammar Patterns

depress + object (price, value, currency, market)

Usage Note

Typically used in financial journalism and economic analysis. Subject is usually a market force (supply, demand, currency strength) rather than a person. The object is always a financial measure — price, value, currency, shares, or bonds.

3. to cause a slowdown in business activity, trade, or economic growth

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to cause a slowdown in business activity, trade, or economic growth

Example

High interest rates depressed business activity throughout the manufacturing sector.

depress + business activity

The prolonged strike at the port depressed trade for nearly two months.

Common collocations
  • depress economic growth
  • depress trade
  • depress demand
  • depress sales
  • depress the industry
  • depress the economy
Synonyms
  • slow

    less formal; focuses on reduction in speed or pace rather than volume

  • weaken

    suggests a loss of strength in economic activity

  • dampen

    implies a partial reduction rather than a full decline; often used with 'demand' or 'enthusiasm'

  • stifle

    stronger; suggests active suppression that prevents normal growth

Antonyms
  • stimulate

    to encourage economic activity or growth

  • boost

    to increase or improve economic performance

Grammar Patterns

depress + object (trade, industry, activity, growth)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: this sense affects the volume or pace of activity (trade, sales, growth), not the monetary value of assets. Common in economics, business reporting, and policy discussion.

Common Mistakes

The cold winter depressed people to stay home.
The cold winter depressed retail sales as people stayed home.
'depress' in this sense takes an economic measure as object, not a person plus infinitive.

4. to reduce the level, amount, rate, or yield of something

4.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to reduce the level, amount, rate, or yield of something

Example

The drought depressed water levels in the reservoir to a record low.

depress + level (of water, temperature, etc.)

Cold weather depressed attendance at the outdoor concert by about thirty percent.

Common collocations
  • depress levels
  • depress the rate
  • depress the yield
  • depress output
  • depress the average
  • depress activity
Synonyms
  • lower

    more common and less formal; can be used in almost any context

  • reduce

    neutral; simply means to make smaller in quantity or degree

  • diminish

    more formal; suggests a gradual lessening over time

  • suppress

    stronger; implies active restraint to prevent normal functioning

Antonyms
  • raise

    to increase the level or amount of something

  • elevate

    more formal; to lift to a higher level or position

Grammar Patterns

depress + object (level, amount, rate, yield)

Usage Note

More general and less domain-specific than senses 2 and 3. The object can be any measurable quantity (levels, rates, yields, averages, counts). Often used in scientific, medical, or statistical contexts.

5. to apply downward pressure on a button, lever, pedal, or similar mechanical cont

5.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to apply downward pressure on a button, lever, pedal, or similar mechanical control

Example

To start the machine, depress the red button on the front control panel.

depress + button / lever / pedal

The dentist asked Andrés to depress his tongue gently with a wooden stick.

Common collocations
  • depress a button
  • depress a lever
  • depress a pedal
  • depress a key
  • depress a plunger
  • depress the clutch
Synonyms
  • press

    more common and general; can mean push in any direction, not just downwards

  • push down

    less formal; the phrasal verb is more common in everyday speech

  • lower

    suggests moving something to a lower position rather than applying downward force

Antonyms
  • raise

    to move something up or to a higher position

  • lift

    to move something upwards from a lower position

Grammar Patterns

depress + object (button, lever, pedal, key)

Usage Note

The original, most literal sense of 'depress'. More formal and technical than common verbs like 'push' or 'press'. Used especially in technical manuals, medical instructions, and driving contexts. Common in passive instructions ('the button should be depressed').

Common Mistakes

She depressed the door open.
She depressed the door handle to open the door.
'depress' means to push downward, not to make something open or move in a particular direction.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five words describe a negative emotional effect, but they differ in intensity, duration, and focus. 'Depress' is the strongest and broadest among them — it implies a lasting, deep lowering of mood that may include loss of hope. 'Sadden' is milder and more temporary: a sad song can sadden you for a few minutes, but it rarely depresses you. 'Discourage' focuses on confidence and motivation rather than sadness — someone might be discouraged by failing a test without feeling genuinely sad. 'Dishearten' sits between discourage and depress; it is more formal and suggests a blow to one's enthusiasm or hope after a setback. 'Weigh down' is a phrasal verb that suggests a gradual, heavy emotional burden — the problem keeps weighing on your mind rather than hitting you all at once. For example: 'The team felt discouraged after the loss, but the coach's speech saddened them more than it depressed them.'

depress ↗sadden ↗discourage ↗disheartenweigh down ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • depress the market
  • depress demand
  • depress economic activity

Prepositions

  • by (depressed by the news)
  • for (depressed for weeks)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word enters English in the 14th century from Old French 'depresser', meaning 'to press down'. That French verb comes from Latin 'deprimere', formed by joining 'de-' (down, away) with 'premere' (to press, push). The original meaning was purely physical — to push something downward. By the 1600s, it had developed a figurative sense of lowering someone's spirits, and by the 1800s, it was being used in economics to describe falling markets or prices.