Make Your Point: IRREPRESSIBLE

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pronounce IRREPRESSIBLE:

EAR ruh PRESS uh bull

connect this word to others:

Let's enjoy the powerful word irrepressible!

It's formed from a prefix meaning "not" and a suffix meaning "able," just like the equally powerful words below. Can you recall them?

1. Something ind__ible can't be erased: it stays in your mind forever.

2. Someone inv__ible can't be conquered: they can't be killed or defeated.

3. Someone inc___igible can't be cured or corrected: they're so bad that nothing you do will change them.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "repress" has Latin bits that literally mean "to hold back" or "to press back."

To repress people or things is to force them down or stamp them out. If you repress a yawn, repress a desire, or repress a comment, you force it back: you don't do it, don't act on it, or don't say it, respectively.

But if your yawn, your desire, or your comment is irrepressible, then it's too strong to be held back: it's going to burst out.

Irrepressible things (and people) are too strong or too powerful to be held back.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "an irrepressible grin;" "Their enthusiasm was irrepressible."

Other forms:

The adverb is common: "irrepressibly," as in "They were laughing irrepressibly" and "They were irrepressibly buoyant."

The noun is rare and a bit clunky: "irrepressibleness."

And the verb forms, all very common, are "repress," "repressed," and "repressing." The act of repressing is "repression."

how to use it:

Pick the semi-common, often positive, always emphatic word "irrepressible" to call special attention to something so strong that it's bound to burst free no matter how hard you try to squash it.

Talk about irrepressible urges and desires, or irrepressible feelings or expressions, like irrepressible hope, anxiety, optimism, enthusiasm, smiles, laughter, or sighs of frustration.

You can even say that a person is irrepressible, meaning their energy or cheerfulness can't be contained.

examples:

"His irrepressible energy was always driving him into new fields of work."
— Justin McCarthy, Modern Leaders, 1872

"There's an irrepressible charm to the sight of the gathered performers singing and dancing with a festive vitality."
— Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 July 2018

has this page helped you understand "irrepressible"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "irrepressible" without saying "unruly" or "unrestrainable."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Someone's) enthusiasm for (something) (is or was) irrepressible."

Example 1: "Even when the work gets slow, difficult, and tedious, Nicole Curtis's enthusiasm for restoring old ramshackle houses is irrepressible."

Example 2: "It was typical eye-straining, monotonous computing work—and Katherine loved every moment of it... Her enthusiasm for the work, even the parts that others considered drudgery, was irrepressible."
— Margot Lee Shetterley, Hidden Figures, 2016

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "Oh Hey, That's the Title!"

I'll give you a short excerpt from a novel, a play, or a short story. In this excerpt, a character or a narrator actually says the story's title. (If not verbatim, then almost.) And you give me the story's title.

Highlight the hints if you need them, and see the answer by scrolling all the way down. Enjoy!

Try this one today:

"'My conclusion,' she explains, 'is that you display equal aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. People who get this kind of result are...' She looks over her shoulder like she expects someone to appear behind her. '...are called... _____.' She says the last word so quietly that I almost don't hear it, and her tense, worried look returns."

To reveal the hints below, highlight the hidden white text.

Hint 1: This story was published in the year... 2011.
Hint 2: This story was written by... Veronica Roth
Hint 3: The first letter of this title is... "D____"

review this word:

1. The precise opposite of IRREPRESSIBLE is REPRESSIBLE. But a pretty close opposite of IRREPRESSIBLE is

A. COMBUSTIBLE (able to burn up).
B. QUELLABLE (able to be crushed or controlled).
C. DISTILLABLE (able to be squeezed down into a pure, concentrated form).

2. In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes Paul Revere as "irrepressibly social," someone likely to _____.

A. speak only if asked to
B. stop and talk to literally anyone he crossed paths with
C. attend gatherings and talk boisterously only if it would be good for business

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > IRREPRESSIBLE

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