oppress
Americanverb (used with object)
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to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power.
a people oppressed by totalitarianism.
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to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.).
Care and sorrow oppressed them.
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to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does.
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Archaic. to put down; subdue or suppress.
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Archaic. to press upon or against; crush.
verb
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to subjugate by cruelty, force, etc
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to afflict or torment
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to lie heavy on (the mind, imagination, etc)
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an obsolete word for overwhelm
Synonym Usage
Oppress, depress, both having the literal meaning to press down upon, to cause to sink, are today mainly limited to figurative applications. To oppress is usually to subject (a people) to burdens, to undue exercise of authority, and the like; its chief application, therefore, is to a social or political situation: a tyrant oppressing his subjects. Depress suggests mainly the psychological effect, upon the individual, of unpleasant conditions, situations, etc., that sadden and discourage: depressed by the news. When oppress is sometimes used in this sense, it suggests a psychological attitude of more complete hopelessness: oppressed by a sense of failure.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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oppressornoun
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preoppressverb (used with object)
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reoppressverb (used with object)
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oppressibleadjective
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unoppressibleadjective
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oppressinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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oppresssimple
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oppressessimple
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have oppressedperfect
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has oppressedperfect
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am oppressingprogressive
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are oppressingprogressive
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is oppressingprogressive
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have been oppressingperfect progressive
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has been oppressingperfect progressive
Past
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oppressedsimple
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had oppressedperfect
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was oppressingprogressive
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were oppressingprogressive
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had been oppressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of oppress
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English oppressen, from Middle French oppresser, from Medieval Latin oppressāre, derivative of Latin oppressus, past participle of opprimere “to squeeze, suffocate,” equivalent to op- “to, toward, against” + -primere (combining form of premere ) “to press”; see origin at op-, press 1
Explanation
When you oppress someone, you use your authority to keep them down. If you oppress people long enough, they might decide to fight back and then decide to oppress YOU. There is a saying that "power corrupts," meaning that once someone gains power, they tend to misuse it in self-serving or brutal ways. Tyrants tend to oppress those beneath them, by limiting their rights. In the fairy tale Rapunzel, the evil old woman tried to oppress Rapunzel by keeping her locked in a tower. Another use of oppress means to cause to suffer. If the ninety degree heat outside will oppress you, you should stay inside in the air conditioning.
Vocabulary lists containing oppress
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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List 7
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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:
"These rules lack humanity and rationality, and they oppress us every day."
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
But that doesn’t mean she’s motivated by a desire to oppress.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2024
A second committee will create a policy for refusing grant funding tied to “illegal occupation abroad” or that limit free speech or oppress minorities, according to the memorandum.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
It was a tool of their rebellion but also a tool to oppress their mother, who was their oppressor.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2023
After the death of Duke Filippo, the Milanese employed Francesco Sforza to wage war against the Venetians; having defeated the enemy at Caravaggio, he joined with them to oppress the Milanese, his employers.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Film critic Robin Wood famously argued that "the true subject of the horror genre is the struggle for recognition of all that our civilization represses and oppresses."
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2023
“We do not feel our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
We do not feel our beliefs, voices and actions belong anywhere near a space that misrepresents and oppresses people of any background, ethnicity or race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
Ms. Kouchner quotes a saying dear to her father Bernard: “Between the strong and the weak, it’s liberty that oppresses and the law that liberates.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2021
We must stand up amid a system that still oppresses us and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
He stands up in the synagogue in Nazareth and proclaims release for the captive, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
The march was an "international demonstration... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world", the group added after the ban was announced.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
The Islamic Human Rights Commission describes Al Quds Day as an "international demonstration... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world".
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
The Kurds remain an oppressed people, but one that will fight for freedom for themselves and protection for others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
The small children, on this day, in this place, and oppressed by their elders, tried hard to play without seeming to be disrespectful of God’s house.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
You can't look at me as someone who's oppressing me and then ask me, "But how do we make you better?"
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2024
Sayce Holmes-Lewis, the founder and CEO of youth mentoring organisation Mentivity, said: "You can't recruit people from the same demographic you are oppressing on a daily basis."
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2023
She said she would do everything within the EU framework to reach the point of imposing sanctions against those responsible for oppressing women in Iran.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2022
She asked participants to realize that an Afghanistan that is oppressing more than half its population cannot be a reliable partner in the world.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2021
To them, it was a matter of the Haves oppressing the Have-nots.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
