suppress
part of speech
verb (suppress, suppresses, suppressed, suppressing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To stop yourself from showing a feeling or doing something, like suppressing a laugh, yawn or sneeze. tree →
2) To stop something by force, like a rebellion or a protest. tree →
3) To keep information secret so people cannot know it. tree →
4) To stop something from growing or working, like a fire or an illness. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories characters «suppress a giggle» or «suppress a smile» when they must stay serious. In history lessons rulers suppressed protests and rebellions. In science and health, medicine can suppress a cough or a virus; firefighters suppress fires. Phrases: «suppress a laugh», «suppress a yawn», «suppress the truth», «suppress a rebellion».
examples
- I tried to suppress a giggle during assembly. tree →
- She suppressed a yawn in the long lesson. tree →
- The king's army suppressed the rebellion. tree →
- The medicine helps suppress a cough. tree →
- (formal) They suppressed the report so nobody could read it. tree →
- Firefighters worked all night to suppress the fire. tree →
- He couldn't suppress his excitement any longer. tree →
note
Spelling: double «p» and double «s»: suppress. Noun: «suppression». Not the same as «oppress» (to treat people cruelly and unfairly) or «repress» (to hold back strongly, often feelings).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «suppress» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.