
adjective
- sad and gloomy; dejected; downcast.
- pressed down, or situated lower than the general surface.
- lowered in force, amount, etc.
- undergoing economic hardship, especially poverty and unemployment.
- being or measured below the standard or norm.
- Botany, Zoology. flattened down; greater in width than in height.
- Psychiatry. suffering from depression.
verb (used with object)
- to make sad or gloomy; lower in spirits; deject; dispirit.
- to lower in force, vigor, activity, etc.; weaken; make dull.
- to lower in amount or value.
- to put into a lower position: to depress the muzzle of a gun.
- to press down.
- Music. to lower in pitch.
adjective
- low in spirits; downcast; despondent
- lower than the surrounding surface
- pressed down or flattened
- Also: distressed characterized by relative economic hardship, such as unemploymenta depressed area
- lowered in force, intensity, or amount
- (of plant parts) flattened as though pressed from above
- zoology flattened from top to bottomthe depressed bill of the spoonbill
verb (tr)
- to lower in spirits; make gloomy; deject
- to weaken or lower the force, vigour, or energy of
- to lower prices of (securities or a security market)
- to press or push down
- to lower the pitch of (a musical sound)
- obsolete to suppress or subjugate
early 14c., “put down by force,” from Old French depresser, from Late Latin depressare, frequentative of Latin deprimere “press down,” from de- “down” (see de-) + premere “to press” (see press (v.1)).
Meaning “push down physically” is from early 15c.; that of “deject, make gloomy” is from 1620s; economic sense of “lower in value” is from 1878. Related: Depressed; depressing.
adj.
- Lower in amount, degree, or position.
- Sunk below the surrounding area.
- Flattened along the dorsal and ventral surfaces.
- Low in spirits; dejected.
- Suffering from psychological depression.
v.
- To lower in spirits; deject.
- To cause to drop or sink; lower.
- To press down.
- To lessen the activity or force of something.