oppressive
Americanadjective
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burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical.
an oppressive king;
oppressive laws.
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causing discomfort by being excessive, intense, elaborate, etc..
oppressive heat.
-
distressing or grievous.
oppressive sorrows.
adjective
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cruel, harsh, or tyrannical
-
heavy, constricting, or depressing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of oppressive
First recorded in 1620–30; from Medieval Latin oppresīvus, equivalent to Latin oppress(us) “pressed down” ( see oppress) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Think of something crushing you, and you will understand what oppressive is. It can be something that crushes your spirit, like a bad relationship, or something that crushes you with its tyranny, like the oppressive rule of a dictator. Oppressive comes in many flavors; laws can be oppressive, governments can be oppressive, even relationships can be oppressive. The adjective oppressive is heavy stuff; it can feel like you can't breathe, like something is choking you: "His oppressive behavior made me feel like I was being smothered." If something is just too intense, and not in a good way, that also can feel oppressive.
Vocabulary lists containing oppressive
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Tuck Everlasting
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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.
The defence team also asserted that the prosecution's five-day cross-examination of Patterson was "unfair and oppressive", and that the Crown was inconsistent in its arguments about a motive.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
They alleged a litany of irregularities in the trial, including an "oppressive" cross-examination and unfair decisions on the admission of evidence.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Afghani activist Roya Mahboob stressed that women who live under oppressive regimes like the Taliban can secure financial independence only with tools, like Bitcoin, that circumvent the law.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Officials are sounding alarms about the potential health impacts related to this week’s oppressive humidity and intense heat, that’s only expected to rise, across Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Outside, you don’t hear a single bird, and a deathly, oppressive silence hangs over the house and clings to me as if it were going to drag me into the deepest regions of the underworld.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
