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 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

Instead it helps bring home the horror movie’s big theme about the transcendence of art for oppressed people, including “music so true it can pierce the veil between life and death.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It doesn’t see the world as a battle between oppressors and the oppressed.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

Leaning heavily on Jeffersonian rhetoric, the Browns called on the “oppressed” populace to rise and assert “their natural rights” as “citizens of a free republic.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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