oppressor
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
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.
And when they sought exemption From Death's unswerving law,As agent of redemption They laid a child in straw,The son of their Oppressor, To cherish and adore.
From The Guardian • Dec. 18, 2010
Do you not know, that “Laws of changeless justice bind Oppressor with oppressed, And, close as sin and suffering joined, We march to fate abreast”?
From A New Atmosphere by Hamilton, Gail
But when she read The Rod of the Oppressor that seemed to settle it; her salon would be incomplete without its author, and she must take steps to find him.
From Under the Skylights by Fuller, Henry Blake
You have seen, if only for a moment, the greatest man on earth—the Great Oppressor of Hebrew story.
From Peeps at Many Lands: Ancient Egypt by Baikie, Constance N.
CXXXIII A Hone is divided by Saint Patrick, and the Oppressor is drowned.
From The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick Including the Life by Jocelin, Hitherto Unpublished in America, and His Extant Writings by O'Leary, James
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.
