Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of depress

56 similar words · 1 opposite word

Another word for depress is upset. Other synonyms of depress are unhappy, grieve, oppress, sadden and desolate.

Synonyms and similar words for depress

verbTo press down.

  • downbearTo bear or press down (on); press upon; depress; subdue.
  • squash

verbTo make depressed, sad or bored.

  • dejectMake sad or dispirited.
  • get downTo depress; discourage; fatigue.
  • aggrieveTo cause someone to feel pain or sorrow to; to afflict.
  • besorrowTo sorrow about or over; care about; fill with care or sorrow; make sad.
  • grieveTo cause sorrow or distress to.
  • pain
  • bring downTo humble.
  • come down onTo cause melancholy in (someone).
  • darkenTo render gloomy, darker in mood.
  • dashTo dishearten; to sadden.
  • desolateTo make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless.
  • dispiritTo lower the morale of; to make despondent; to dishearten.
  • forset UK, dialectalTo upset; hinder.
  • grievenTo make or become grievous or grief-stricken; to fill or be filled with grief.
  • oppressTo make sad or gloomy.
  • saddenTo make sad or unhappy.
  • sadden upTo become or make (something) sad.
  • ungladdenTo take the gladness from.
  • unhappyTo make or become unhappy; to sadden.
  • upsetTo make (a person) angry, distressed, or unhappy.
  • attrist archaicTo sadden; to make sad.
  • begloom archaicTo sadden.
  • begrieve archaicTo cause grief or grieving.
  • contristate obsoleteTo make sorrowful; to sadden or grieve.
  • engrieve archaicTo cause grief to, to vex or pain; to associate with vexation or pain.
  • moan obsoleteTo distress (someone); to sadden.
  • repent archaic
  • rue obsoleteTo cause to feel sorrow or pity.
  • tristitiate obsoleteTo sadden.

verbTo bring down or humble; to abase (pride, etc.).

  • cut down to size
  • humiliateTo cause to be ashamed; to injure the dignity and self-respect of.
  • put someone in their placeTo bring somebody down; to humble or rebuke.
  • abaseTo lower, as in condition in life, office, rank, etc., so as to cause pain or hurt feelings; to degrade, to depress, to...
  • bring down to sizeSynonym of cut down to size.
  • defameTo disgrace; to bring into disrepute.
  • degradeTo lower in value or social position.
  • demeanTo humble; to humiliate.
  • demoteTo lower the rank or status of.
  • discreditTo harm the good reputation of (a person).
  • disgraceTo put someone or something out of favor; to bring shame or ignominy upon.
  • dishonourTo bring disgrace upon someone or something; to shame.
  • disparageTo dishonor by a comparison with what is inferior; to lower in rank or estimation by actions or words; to speak...
  • downgradeTo disparage.
  • give a bad nameTo cause people to lose respect, reverence or esteem for something or someone.
  • humbleTo defeat or reduce the power, independence, or pride of.
  • knock down to sizeSynonym of cut down to size.
  • reduceTo bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote.
  • relegateConsign (a person or thing) to a place, position, or role of obscurity, insignificance, oblivion, lower rank or...
  • sink figurativelyTo cause to decline; to depress or degrade.
  • slurTo soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
  • trim down to sizeSynonym of cut down to size.
  • whittle down to sizeSynonym of cut down to size.
  • debase archaicTo lower in position or rank.
  • embase archaicTo bring down or lower in position, status, etc.; to degrade, humiliate.

Opposite of depress

verbTo make depressed, sad or bored.

  • cheer upTo make someone happier or less downcast.

Meaning of depress

  1. verb To press down.
  2. verb To make depressed, sad or bored.
  3. verb To cause a depression or a decrease in parts of the economy.

Full definition of depress

depress in other languages

Questions about synonyms of depress

What is another word for depress?
Depress has 56 synonyms on Word.ws, such as upset, unhappy, grieve, oppress, sadden, desolate, dispirit and deject.
What is the opposite of depress?
The opposite of depress is cheer up.
What does depress mean?
Depress means to press down.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: depress (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of depress.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/depress. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.