suppress confidence

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "suppress confidence" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts where someone is trying to diminish or undermine another person's self-assurance or belief in their abilities. Example: "The constant criticism from her peers began to suppress her confidence, making it difficult for her to speak up in meetings."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

It also called on the coalition to "prioritise measures to boost demand through public and private investment, using all tools available to government including the flexibility in its fiscal mandate, over further spending cuts beyond those already in place that would suppress confidence and demand yet further".

The Guardian

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

How can you become part of a country that was not comfortable with itself?" This insecurity does not eliminate racism, but it may have suppressed the confidence to articulate it and certainly thwarted efforts to organise electorally around it.

The Guardian

Given the latest data indicating weak growth and strikingly high unemployment, the administration is rightly concerned that business negativism is suppressing the confidence necessary for increased investment and job growth.

The New York Times

Although increasing the confidence interval can suppress spurious peaks to some extent, as it is shown in Figure 7, we may adopt a pessimistic attitude for ℓ1-SVD.

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

It also apparently never occurred to NASA that suppressing this data could damage public confidence even more than releasing it.

The New York Times

A concise description of the job might be: the ability to instill soaring confidence in others while suppressing your own perpetual vulnerability.

The New Yorker

With this setting, the confidence of non-cough signals are manually suppressed, making many low confidential cough signals detected.

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

There is also much debate as to the impact of the government's austerity policies and their effect on confidence, while others point to the UK's level of indebtedness as suppressing growth.

BBC

The report urges the Palestinians to do much more in suppressing and denouncing terrorism as a counterpart to the freezing of Israeli settlements and other "confidence building" measures.

The New York Times

James W. Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, said that in his view the bond-buying was suppressing growth by treating the economy as if it required life support, which was undermining confidence.

The New York Times

Or suppress.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing the impact of negative feedback or experiences, use "suppress confidence" to highlight how self-assurance is diminished.

Common error

Avoid using "suppress confidence" when describing minor setbacks or temporary doubts. Reserve it for situations where there's a significant and lasting impact on someone's self-belief.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "suppress confidence" functions as a verb phrase with a direct object. The verb "suppress" acts upon the noun "confidence", indicating the act of inhibiting or diminishing one's self-assurance. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

3%

Wiki

3%

Academia

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "suppress confidence" is a grammatically sound expression used to describe the act of diminishing or inhibiting someone's self-assurance. Although relatively rare in occurrence, according to Ludwig, it finds its usage primarily in News & Media and Scientific contexts. When employing this phrase, it's essential to reserve it for situations where self-belief is significantly and lastingly impacted. Ludwig AI approves it's correct to use this phrase.

Alternatives such as "undermine self-assurance", "diminish belief", and "erode faith" offer nuanced ways to express similar concepts. In summary, while "suppress confidence" is a valid and understandable phrase, awareness of its connotations and suitable alternatives enhances precision in writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

undermine self-assurance

This alternative replaces "confidence" with "self-assurance" maintaining a similar meaning but with a slightly more formal tone.

undercut assurance

This phrase implies weakening assurance by removing support.

inhibit assurance

Using "inhibit" provides a more formal way of saying "suppress", while retaining a similar meaning of preventing or restraining assurance.

diminish belief

This phrase uses "diminish" instead of "suppress" and "belief" for "confidence", focusing on the reduction of faith in one's abilities.

stifle self-belief

This option uses "stifle", conveying a sense of holding back or suffocating one's self-belief.

weaken conviction

This alternative replaces "confidence" with "conviction", highlighting a lessening of certainty or strong belief.

shake confidence

This alternative suggests causing uncertainty or doubt in one's confidence.

erode faith

This phrase uses "erode" to suggest a gradual wearing away of "faith", which is similar to confidence.

curtail certainty

This alternative highlights a reduction in the feeling of being sure about something.

dampen enthusiasm

This alternative shifts the focus to reducing positive feelings and excitement rather than directly addressing confidence.

FAQs

How can "suppress confidence" be used in a sentence?

You can use "suppress confidence" to describe actions or situations that diminish someone's self-belief. For example, "The constant criticism began to "suppress confidence", making it difficult to speak up".

What are some alternatives to "suppress confidence"?

Alternatives include "undermine self-assurance", "diminish belief", or "erode faith", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

What's the difference between "suppress confidence" and "shake confidence"?

"Suppress confidence" suggests a more lasting and significant reduction in self-belief, while "shake confidence" implies a temporary disruption or questioning of one's assurance.

Is "suppress confidence" formal or informal?

"Suppress confidence" is suitable for both formal and informal contexts, though more formal alternatives like "inhibit assurance" might be preferred in academic or professional writing.