oppressor
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oppressor
First recorded in 1375–1425; oppress ( def. ) + -or 2 ( def. )
Explanation
An oppressor is any authority (a group or a person) that uses its power unjustly to keep people under control. Many rebellious teenagers view their parents as oppressors, but the word is usually used to refer to dictators. While you might complain about your oppressor, the teacher who makes you stay late to catch up on assignments you missed, a true oppressor denies basic human rights to people who live under their control. Before Partition in 1947, the citizens of India mostly viewed their British rulers as oppressors — in some cases, Indian farmers were forced by the British to grow non-food crops, causing thousands to starve. The Latin root is opprimere, "to crush or subdue."
Vocabulary lists containing oppressor
Every Falling Star
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A Night Divided
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 3
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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:
In both his realms, James worked to solidify the Reformation while facing attacks from the Puritans as an oppressor and from Rome as a heretic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
To keep them, he said, meant treating the victim the same as the oppressor.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
“Daddy was always very proud of his time in the Army, even though he later understood and saw the United States military as an oppressor of our people,” says his daughter, Noemí Sánchez González.
From National Geographic ● Nov. 10, 2023
It was a tool of their rebellion but also a tool to oppress their mother, who was their oppressor.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2023
Students did not want to learn and teachers did not want to teach in the language of the oppressor.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
That was a theme I encountered in several of these interviews; clergy members felt compelled to pray for the federal agents it might have been easy for them to see as enemies or oppressors.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
“I focused on the voices of the people, the voices of my friends and comrades, I believe that’s what kept me alive, hearing them continue the fight despite how aggressive our oppressors were,” K said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
It doesn’t see the world as a battle between oppressors and the oppressed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Everett explains that "any enslaved, imprisoned or oppressed people find a way to speak to each other in the presence of their oppressors that will not allow entry."
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2024
I want to be like Moses, who led the children of Israel from the land of the oppressors.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
