Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun repression

3 senses of repression

Sense 1
repression -- (a state of forcible subjugation; "the long repression of Christian sects")
       => subjugation, subjection -- (forced submission to control by others)

Sense 2
repression -- ((psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious)
       => defense mechanism, defense reaction, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defence -- ((psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires)

Sense 3
repression -- (the act of repressing; control by holding down; "his goal was the repression of insolence")
       => control -- (the activity of managing or exerting control over something; "the control of the mob by the police was admirable")