Dictionary

irrepressible en · ADJ

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 *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ibilis Old French -ibleder. Middle English -ible English -ible English repressible English irrepressible From ir- + repressible.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, usually) Not containable or controllable.
   • [...] here the two friends burst into a variety of giggles, and glanced from time to time, over the tops of their pocket-handkerchiefs, at Nicholas, who from a state of unmixed astonishment, gradually fell into one of irrepressible laughter [...] 1858, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in Nicholas Nickleby:
2. (not-comparable, of a person, usually) Especially high-spirited, outspoken, or insistent.
   • "The irrepressible Yank is knocking at the doors of their temples and he will want to sell 'em carpet-sweepers for their harems." 1901, Frank Norris, The Octopus, Book II, Conclusion:
   • Schomberg, [...] an irrepressible retailer of all the scandalous gossip of the place, would, with both elbows on the table, impart an adorned version of the story to any guest who cared to imbibe knowledge along with the more costly liquors. 1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter XIX, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 210:
   • The irrepressible landlady gave the freest expression to her feelings. 1875, Wilkie Collins, chapter 3, in The Law and the Lady:
   • It was Paris' irrepressible High Fashion Doyenne Gabrielle ("Coco") Chanel, 80, so-soing this and high-hatting that, while Women's Wear Daily took notes. 1963 July 12, “People”, in Time:
   • High-strung and irrepressible, George Jefferson quickly became one of America’s most popular television characters, a high-energy, combative black man who backed down to no one. 2012 July 24, Mel Watkins, “Sherman Hemsley, ‘Jeffersons’ Star, Is Dead at 74”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 Jun 2013:

Forms

Deriveds

irrepressibleness · irrepressibly

Translations (24)

uk невгамо́вний (not containable or controllable) · ru неуёмный (not containable or controllable) · cmn 控制不住的 (not containable or controllable) · ru неукроти́мый (not containable or controllable) · ca irreprimible (not containable or controllable) · cmn 忍不住的 (not containable or controllable) · ru неудержи́мый (not containable or controllable) · nl onstuitbaar (not containable or controllable) · pt irreprimível (not containable or controllable) · gl irreprimíbel (not containable or controllable) · fr irrépressible (not containable or controllable) · gl irreprimible (not containable or controllable) · uk нестри́мний (not containable or controllable) · it insopprimibile (not containable or controllable) · pl niepowstrzymany (not containable or controllable) · ga dochloíte (not containable or controllable) · nl onbedwingbaar (not containable or controllable) · bg неудържим (not containable or controllable) · pl niepohamowany (not containable or controllable) · uk непогамо́вний (not containable or controllable) · es irrefrenable (not containable or controllable) · hu elfojthatatlan (not containable or controllable) · bg неукротим (not containable or controllable) · es irreprimible (not containable or controllable)