nonrepressive

6.5

Not trying to control people's actions, words, or feelings

adjective
/ˌnɒn.rɪˈprɛs.ɪv/

: no represivo

In a nonrepressive environment, individuals are free to express their opinions without fear of punishment.

Examples

We can create, so the feminists still say, an androgynous, egalitarian, nonrepressive, and nonoppressive society.

Academic text (2003)
How, then, do we turn El Salvador—a tiny nation under Communist-supported terrorist attack—into a nonrepressive, functioning republic like Mexico?

Academic text (1997)
The artist felt inspired to create in a nonrepressive society that valued freedom of expression.
A nonrepressive approach to governance allows citizens to voice their concerns and desires openly.

Antonyms

oppressive

45 6.3

Using harsh, unfair power to control people and limit their freedom

repressive

32 7.0

Limiting people's freedom to speak or act

How Repressive

oppressive

45 6.3

repressive

32 7.0

restrictive

49 4.7

lenient

31 4.4

nonrepressive

6.5

Surface Forms

nonrepressive positive

Morphology

nonrepressive = repressive (transparent) = non + repress + ive

The word is formed by adding the negative prefix 'non-' to 'repressive', so the meaning is directly interpretable as 'not repressive'.

Etymology

The word nonrepressive comes from non- ('not') and repressive, which is built on the familiar word press meaning 'to push down', as in pressure. So nonrepressive describes a way of acting or a place that does not push people down or stop their feelings and speech.