Supressioon

Supressioon is the act of suppressing or restraining something, preventing its expression, publication, growth, or function. The term is used across disciplines and contexts, including politics, law, science, medicine, psychology, and data handling. In many languages, including Estonian, the word corresponds to the English term suppression and denotes the same broad idea of reducing or withholding.

In politics and civil society, suppression refers to actions by authorities to limit political dissent, curb media freedom, or suppress protests and opposition movements. It can involve censorship, arrests, or legal restrictions aimed at controlling information and behaviour rather than direct physical force alone. The concept is closely linked to debates about civil liberties and democratic accountability.

In law and evidence handling, suppression can mean the exclusion of evidence from a court record, or the use of legal instruments such as suppression orders to prevent disclosure. In science and medicine, suppression describes processes that dampen biological activity, for example immunosuppression, suppression of gene expression, or suppression of tumor growth. In pharmacology, drugs may suppress immune or hormonal function as part of treatment or disease management.

In psychology, suppression denotes the conscious postponement or avoidance of unwanted thoughts or feelings, and is contrasted with repression, which is assumed to be unconscious. In statistics and data management, suppression refers to withholding or redacting data to protect privacy, or to restrict the visibility of specific cells in published tables (cell suppression).