repression vs defense mechanism

repression and defense mechanism both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
repression	Yes	No	No	No
defense mechanism	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, defense mechanism is a hypernym of repression; that is, defense mechanism is a word with a broader meaning than repression:

repression: (psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious
defense mechanism: (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

Other hypernyms of repression include defence, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defense reaction.

repression (noun)	defense mechanism (noun)
the act of repressing; control by holding down	(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
(psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious
a state of forcible subjugation