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pent-up

[ pent-uhp ]

/ ˈpɛntˈʌp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pent-up ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

confined; restrained; not vented or expressed; curbed: pent-up emotions; pent-up rage.

Origin of pent-up

First recorded in 1705–15; adj. use of verb phrase pent up

SYNONYMS FOR pent-up

repressed, suppressed, bottled-up.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pent-up ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby pent-up

penstemon, penstock, pensée, pensées, pent, pent-up, pent., penta-, pentachloronitrobenzene, pentachlorophenol, pentacle

Example sentences from the Web for pent-up

Is it the Internet as an escape valve for decades of pent-up rebellion against political correctness?

Why Are Men So Angry? |Kay Hymowitz |February 28, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
All that pent-up uncertainty—a “bonus,” by definition, is discretionary—creates paranoia pretty much all year.

Europe's Got Balls |Randall Lane |July 8, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Pent-up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence.

Obama's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech |Barack Obama |December 10, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
There is indeed pent-up energy and aggression, but much in the show is also funny and sweet.

Tim Burton's Twisted Art |Kate Taylor |November 19, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

Once he got his foppish foot in the door, he celebrated by unleashing the full majesty of his pent-up fashion exhibitionism.

Benjamin Disraeli: Dead Cool |Simon Doonan |September 30, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
We lived with a pent-up volcano beneath us, and, day and night, we were ceaselessly vigilant.

Captain Canot |Brantz Mayer
There will be no pent-up energies here to burst out into disaster for yourself and others.

The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories |Gertrude Atherton
It was Toomey's chance, after weeks of pent-up rage for battle, and he couldn't throw it away.

To The Front |Charles King
Sawaichi lay on the ground and gave vent to the pent-up misery in his heart.

Romances of Old Japan |Yei Theodora Ozaki
They are pent-up reservoirs of energy, which almost any influence will tap.

The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) |J. Arthur Thomson

British Dictionary definitions for pent-up

pent-up

adjective (pent up when postpositive)

not released; repressed pent-up emotions

kept unwillingly I've been pent up in this office for over a year