oppressed

American  

[uh-prest] / əˈprɛst /

adjective

1. burdened with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subjected to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power.

   He's spent over three years documenting the lives of poor, exploited, and oppressed peoples in Latin America.

2. weighed down by thoughts or feelings that lie heavily on the mind or spirit.

   The fix for a hurt heart, broken spirit, or oppressed mind is not always easy, but there is a path to recovery.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. Usually the oppressed oppressed people collectively.

   We cannot proclaim individual liberty and at the same time show no solidarity with the oppressed.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of oppress.

Other Word Forms

• unoppressed adjective

Etymology

Origin of oppressed

First recorded in 1350–1400; oppress ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online.

From Los Angeles Times

“We are the grandchildren of the protesters. We are the grandchildren of the oppressed,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Harbored at different times by Yemen, Syria, East Germany and communist Hungary, this self-appointed tribune of the oppressed was finally captured in Sudan in 1994, then convicted in France of multiple murders.

From The Wall Street Journal

Occasionally undone by melodramatic tendencies, “All That’s Left of You” catalogs the emotional toll that occupation visits on the oppressed.

From Los Angeles Times

Our critic said “What the play most painfully illustrates is that for women like these—impoverished or politically oppressed—appealing options are nonexistent.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abused
• destitute
• distressed
• enslaved
• exploited
• helpless
• persecuted