Pent-up

//pɛnt ʌp// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not expressed.

    "I remember, particularly, how, in his speech here, he referred to what his family had suffered in Kansas, without ever giving the least vent to his pent-up fire."

  2. 2
    Repressed or suppressed, especially of emotions or impulses.

    "He punched his pillow and screamed at the top of his lungs about all the pent-up frustrations from the day."

Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by or showing the suppression of impulses or emotions wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
arrestedbarredbeleagueredbesetboundcloistered

Example

More examples

"His pent-up grudge to the cult exploded into the gunshot death of the former prime minister."

Etymology

From pent + up.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.