repression

/ri'preʃn/

Thân thiện

A child uses repression to avoid thinking about a scary monster.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of subduing or controlling by force: The action of using authority or power to suppress, restrain, or hold down a person, group, or activity, often to prevent rebellion or dissent.
   • The psychological process of excluding distressing thoughts from consciousness: In psychology, a defense mechanism where unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or desires are pushed into the unconscious mind to prevent anxiety.
   • A state of being forcibly controlled or subdued: The condition in which a group or individual is kept under strict, often harsh, control.

Usage Examples

• General/ Political Context:
  • The regime maintained power through the brutal repression of any opposition.
  • The protest was met with violent repression by the authorities.
• Psychological Context:
  • Therapy often involves exploring past trauma that has been buried by repression.
  • Repression of anger can sometimes lead to physical health issues.
• State of Being:
  • The people lived for decades under constant repression.

Advanced Usage

• "The return of the repressed": A psychoanalytic concept where repressed material (e.g., memories, desires) re-emerges, often in disguised forms like dreams or symptoms.
  • His phobia was analyzed as a classic case of the return of the repressed.
• "Internal repression": The act of suppressing one's own emotions or impulses.
  • Her internal repression made it difficult for her to express vulnerability.

Variants and Related Words

• Repress (verb): To subdue or restrain by force; to suppress (an emotion, memory, or desire).
  • The government tried to repress the uprising.
  • He repressed the painful memory.
• Repressive (adjective): Serving to repress, restrictive, harsh.
  • They lived under a repressive regime.
• Repressed (adjective): Subjected to repression; (of a person or emotion) restrained or inhibited.
  • He was a very repressed individual.
  • Repressed emotions.

Synonyms

• Suppression: The action of ending something by force. (Often used interchangeably with "repression," though "suppression" can be more conscious and "repression" more unconscious in psychology).
• Subjugation: The action of bringing someone or something under domination or control.
• Oppression: Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control.

Related Phrases

• Political repression: The persecution of an individual or group for political reasons.
  • The journalist fled the country to escape political repression.
• Sexual repression: The inhibition of sexual desires or activities, often due to societal or internal constraints.
  • The novel explores themes of sexual repression in Victorian society.

Related Idioms/Concepts

• Culture of repression: A social environment where open expression and dissent are systematically discouraged or punished.
  • The artist's work challenged the culture of repression.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of repressing; control by holding down
   • his goal was the repression of insolence
2. (psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious
3. a state of forcible subjugation
   • the long repression of Christian sects