Standard Lemma guide

suppressive

adj · noun · 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.

  • /səˈprɛ.sɪv/
  • [səˈphrwɛ.sɪv]
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛsɪv

1

adj

Meaning 1

That serves to suppress.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any drug that acts to suppress a condition.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

tending to suppress

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the government used suppressive measures to control the protest

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English suppress Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English suppressive From suppress + -ive.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Spanish: suprimiente — Translations