Meaning & use
bottling up
Last updated
“bottling up” is a form of “bottle up”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
phrasephrasal verb
Keeping strong feelings, especially anger or sadness, inside yourself instead of expressing them.
Grammar: This is the -ing form of 'bottle up'. It is often used after verbs like 'keep' or as a noun phrase: 'bottling up your emotions'.
Patterns
- bottling up emotions
- bottling up feelings
- bottling up anger
He has a habit of bottling up his anger until he explodes.
Bottling up your feelings can lead to stress and health problems.
She kept bottling up her sadness instead of talking to friends.
Common combinations
- bottling up emotions
- Bottling up emotions is not healthy; it's better to share them.
- bottling up anger
- His bottling up anger eventually caused a big argument.
- keep bottling up
- If you keep bottling up your worries, you'll feel worse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- suppressing
- More formal and can refer to stopping thoughts or actions, not just feelings; 'bottling up' is more informal and focuses on emotions.
- repressing
- Often used in psychology for pushing feelings out of conscious awareness; 'bottling up' is everyday language.
Opposites
Word family
- bottle up phrasal verb
- The base form; e.g., 'Don't bottle up your feelings.'
- bottled up adjective
- Describes feelings that are kept inside: 'bottled-up frustration'.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Bottling up' means not expressing emotions. Option 0 fits that meaning. Options 1 and 2 use prepositions that don't fit, and option 3 contradicts the meaning by saying 'expressing them clearly'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bottling up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.