Repression
Etymology
From Latin "reprimere" (to press back), combining "re-" (back) with "premere" (to press). Sigmund Freud made it a cornerstone of psychoanalysis, casting it as the mind’s way of banishing unacceptable content into the unconscious. The word also carries a political sense — the forcible suppression of dissent.
noun · /ri-PRESH-uhn/
The unconscious blocking of distressing thoughts, memories, or impulses from awareness.
What it names
A defense that happens beneath awareness — the mind hiding material from itself — distinct from a deliberate choice to look away.
Example
Years later, therapy surfaced a childhood memory that repression had kept entirely out of reach.
Related idea
Distinct from suppression, which is the conscious, deliberate pushing-away of a thought one knows one has; repression operates without awareness. Compare sublimation, another defense, which redirects a forbidden impulse into a socially acceptable outlet rather than burying it.
noun · /ri-PRESH-uhn/
The use of force or control by an authority to subdue dissent, restrict freedom, and keep a population in check.
What it names
state or institutional suppression of people
Example
The regime’s violent repression of the protests drew condemnation abroad.
Related idea
Political repression is the condition that emancipation exists to undo.