Standard Lemma guide

irrepressible

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 R AH0 P R EH1 S AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not containable or controllable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Especially high-spirited, outspoken, or insistent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

impossible to repress or control

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an irrepressible chatterbox
  • uncontrollable laughter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: uncontrollable

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English ir- Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re-der. Old French re-bor. Middle English re- English re- English press English repress Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dhlom Proto-Indo-European *-dhlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ibilis Old French -ibleder. Middle English -ible English -ible English repressible English irrepressible From ir- + repressible.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неудържим (neudǎržim) — not containable or controllable
  • Bulgarian: неукротим (neukrotim) — not containable or controllable
  • Catalan: irreprimible — not containable or controllable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 忍不住的 (rěn bù zhù de) — not containable or controllable
  • Chinese Mandarin: 控制不住的 (kòngzhì bù zhù de) — not containable or controllable
  • Dutch: onbedwingbaar — not containable or controllable
  • Dutch: onstuitbaar — not containable or controllable
  • French: irrépressible — not containable or controllable
  • Galician: irreprimible — not containable or controllable
  • Galician: irreprimíbel — not containable or controllable
  • Hungarian: elfojthatatlan — not containable or controllable
  • Irish: dochloíte — not containable or controllable
  • Italian: insopprimibile — not containable or controllable
  • Polish: niepowstrzymany — not containable or controllable
  • Polish: niepohamowany — not containable or controllable
  • Portuguese: irreprimível — not containable or controllable
  • Russian: неудержи́мый (neuderžímyj) — not containable or controllable
  • Russian: неукроти́мый (neukrotímyj) — not containable or controllable
  • Russian: неуёмный (neujómnyj) — not containable or controllable
  • Spanish: irreprimible — not containable or controllable
  • Spanish: irrefrenable — not containable or controllable
  • Ukrainian: нестри́мний (nestrýmnyj) — not containable or controllable
  • Ukrainian: невгамо́вний (nevhamóvnyj) — not containable or controllable
  • Ukrainian: непогамо́вний (nepohamóvnyj) — not containable or controllable