oppress
Americanverb (used with object)
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oppresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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oppressed,
past participle, past
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oppressing
present participle
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to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power.
a people oppressed by totalitarianism.
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to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.).
Care and sorrow oppressed them.
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to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does.
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Archaic. to put down; subdue or suppress.
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Archaic. to press upon or against; crush.
verb
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to subjugate by cruelty, force, etc
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to afflict or torment
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to lie heavy on (the mind, imagination, etc)
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an obsolete word for overwhelm
Synonym Usage
Oppress, depress, both having the literal meaning to press down upon, to cause to sink, are today mainly limited to figurative applications. To oppress is usually to subject (a people) to burdens, to undue exercise of authority, and the like; its chief application, therefore, is to a social or political situation: a tyrant oppressing his subjects. Depress suggests mainly the psychological effect, upon the individual, of unpleasant conditions, situations, etc., that sadden and discourage: depressed by the news. When oppress is sometimes used in this sense, it suggests a psychological attitude of more complete hopelessness: oppressed by a sense of failure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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oppressornoun
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preoppressverb (used with object)
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reoppressverb (used with object)
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oppressibleadjective
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unoppressibleadjective
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oppressinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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oppresssimple
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oppressessimple
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have oppressedperfect
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has oppressedperfect
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am oppressingprogressive
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are oppressingprogressive
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is oppressingprogressive
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have been oppressingperfect progressive
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has been oppressingperfect progressive
Past
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oppressedsimple
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had oppressedperfect
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was oppressingprogressive
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were oppressingprogressive
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had been oppressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of oppress
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English oppressen, from Middle French oppresser, from Medieval Latin oppressāre, derivative of Latin oppressus, past participle of opprimere “to squeeze, suffocate,” equivalent to op- “to, toward, against” + -primere (combining form of premere ) “to press”; see origin at op-, press 1
Explanation
When you oppress someone, you use your authority to keep them down. If you oppress people long enough, they might decide to fight back and then decide to oppress YOU. There is a saying that "power corrupts," meaning that once someone gains power, they tend to misuse it in self-serving or brutal ways. Tyrants tend to oppress those beneath them, by limiting their rights. In the fairy tale Rapunzel, the evil old woman tried to oppress Rapunzel by keeping her locked in a tower. Another use of oppress means to cause to suffer. If the ninety degree heat outside will oppress you, you should stay inside in the air conditioning.
Vocabulary lists containing oppress
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You can’t love God and abuse the immigrant. You can’t love God and bully the outcast. You can’t love God and oppress the poor.”
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
"These rules lack humanity and rationality, and they oppress us every day."
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
But that doesn’t mean she’s motivated by a desire to oppress.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2024
Still, he said, AI could become so effective that it could powerfully oppress free speech.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2024
Cecile wouldn’t tell us to smile at anyone who tried to oppress us.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
The residents of Piltover enjoy the privileges of life in an affluent and powerful society, one that casually oppresses the impoverished inhabitants of Zaun.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2024
“We do not feel our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
We do not feel our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
Ms. Kouchner quotes a saying dear to her father Bernard: “Between the strong and the weak, it’s liberty that oppresses and the law that liberates.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2021
We must stand up amid a system that still oppresses us and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
“I didn’t want that clean, wholesome life ... It felt so fake. I identified with real people, oppressed people who were outside that life. I wanted to taste real life — street life.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Faux explained that, theoretically, yes, there are many ways that Bitcoin could serve the marginalized and oppressed: It could be used in international remittances; it could protect wealth against irresponsible governments.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
They said they lived under constant surveillance and claimed the Chinese government oppressed and persecuted Tibetans.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Talarico, believing God is on the side of the oppressed and the marginalized, focuses his message to voters on equity and protecting personal freedom.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Youth League was marginally more friendly to the Indians and the Coloureds, stating that Indians, like Africans, were oppressed, but that Indians had India, a mother country that they could look to.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
You can't look at me as someone who's oppressing me and then ask me, "But how do we make you better?"
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2024
The mayor fumbled when asked in a radio show about the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim group that China has been accused of oppressing, saying “What’s a Uygher?”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
"You can't recruit people from the same group you are oppressing on a day-to-day basis," he says.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2023
She said she would do everything within the EU framework to reach the point of imposing sanctions against those responsible for oppressing women in Iran.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2022
“They’re, like, oppressing people, man,” said the kebob sandwich eater.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
