Expressing

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɛkˈspɹɛsɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The action of conveying and manifesting thoughts, sentiments, or ideas to others in a clear and understandable format
2. The act of putting thoughts or emotions into words, gestures, or art to share with others
3. Conveying personal ideas or emotions through verbal, written, or nonverbal methods

Etymology: "Expressing" is the present participle of "express," so its story is really the story of the verb. Latin "exprimere" meant to press out, from "ex-" ("out") and "premere" ("to press"). The pressing sense is still visible in the image of squeezing juice from fruit, and the word's earliest English uses kept that physical flavour before it came to mean forcing something out of the mind. The verb passed into English through French. Old French had "espresser" (or "expresser"), a form built on the frequentative stem of the Latin verb, a version that suggested repeated or intensive pressing. From there the word moved toward the sense of putting something into clear words or outward signs, the meaning that dominates today. Note that the English adjective "express," meaning fast or direct, is a separate branch that came from the French "exprès," meaning explicit or specific, from the same Latin past participle "expressus." The word "expressing" in the sense of showing thoughts or feelings carries the older verbal idea of bringing something out into view.

Synonyms: articulating, communicating, voicing, conveying, declaring

Antonyms: suppressing, hiding, concealing, repressing, masking