pent-up

comparative more pent-up · superlative most pent-up · alternative pent up

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.

   1859, Henry David Thoreau, A Plea for Captain John Brown

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.

   3 more examples

   It was that kind of night, full of anxiety and drama and plenty of danger, until, finally, Steven Gerrard made sure all the pent-up emotion could be released.

   2013 October 15, Daniel Taylor, “Steven Gerrard goal against Poland ensures England will go to World Cup”, in The Guardian

   Anecdotally, demand has held up - rather than cancelling, people are asking when they might be able to travel. There is a sense of some pent-up demand.

   2020 July 15, Tony Streeter, “Charters return to running... but in an uncertain environment”, in Rail, page 35

   “I believe it’s a lot of pent-up demand from the pandemic and people wanting to get out,” David Richardson, a member of the Miami Beach City Commission, said on Sunday.

   2021 March 22, Neil Vigdor, Michael Majchrowicz, Azi Paybarah, “Miami Beach, Overwhelmed by Spring Break, Extends Emergency Curfew”, in The New York Times, →ISSN