depressed; depressing; depresses
2
a
: to press down
depress the backspace key
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
3
: to lessen the activity or strength of
drugs that may depress the appetite
4
: sadden, discourage
don't let the news depress you
5
: to decrease the market value or marketability of
Examples of depress in a Sentence
The news seemed to depress him a little.
I don't mean to depress you, but there's no way we can win.
We were all depressed by the loss.
You shouldn't let this kind of problem depress you.
These changes could depress the economy.
Market conditions are likely to depress earnings in the next quarter.
depressing the price of a stock
Slowly depress the car's brake pedal.
Depress the “shift” key on your keyboard.
The doctor will depress your tongue and look at your throat.
Recent Examples on the Web
For all the inherent sadness of its subject matter, Mouse is never depressing, thanks to the delicacy of O’Sullivan and Thompson’s filmmaking.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
As labor supply remains weak, demand is also being depressed by elevated policy uncertainty and past over-hiring, with AI adoption poised to weigh on payrolls too.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
But the state of European fashion depressed him.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
Chung Hyeon, the 2018 Australian Open semifinalist who saw Achilles and back injuries derail his career, and Kwon Soon-woo, whose ranking has been depressed by military service that prohibits his playing outside South Korea, stunning Argentina.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depress
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Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026
As labor supply remains weak, demand is also being depressed by elevated policy uncertainty and past over-hiring, with AI adoption poised to weigh on payrolls too.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2026
But the state of European fashion depressed him.
—Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026
Chung Hyeon, the 2018 Australian Open semifinalist who saw Achilles and back injuries derail his career, and Kwon Soon-woo, whose ranking has been depressed by military service that prohibits his playing outside South Korea, stunning Argentina.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for depress
Cite this Entry
“Depress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depress. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
depress
verb
de·press
di-ˈpres 
1
a
: to press down
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
2
: to lessen the activity or strength of
3
: sadden, discourage
4
: to lessen in price or value : depreciate
depressingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
Medical Definition
depress
transitive verb
de·press
di-ˈpres
1
: to diminish the activity, strength, or yield of
able to depress irritability of the heart muscle by the use of such a drug as procaine
2
: to lower in spirit or mood
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