pent-up

adjective

: held or kept inside : not released
The children were full of pent-up energy after the long car ride.
pent-up anger/frustration/enthusiasm/excitement

Examples of pent-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Businesses have more supply but savings have dried up Last Black Friday and Christmas, consumers had excess savings from the pandemic and pent-up demand to truly celebrate the festivities after various lockdowns. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 24 Nov. 2023 In the meantime, businesses, especially those in the sprawling service sector, are benefiting from what still appears to be pent-up demand, likely driven by higher-income earners, after the restrictions of the pandemic. Bychristopher Rugaber, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023 For screenwriters, there is also pent-up demand for raises, made worse by climbing inflation. Brooks Barnes, BostonGlobe.com, 1 May 2023 Adding to anger over the deaths was pent-up frustration of migrants who have spent weeks trying to make appointments on a U.S. cellphone app to file asylum claims. Fabiola Sánchez and Morgan Lee, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2023 Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence J. McGann said Sophia Negroponte had pent-up anger issues that were made worse by her drinking. Dan Morse, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023 For progressives, there is pent-up hope that, after more than a decade, this election may finally free them from minority rule. Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pent-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near pent-up

Cite this Entry

“Pent-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pent-up. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!