oppress
Americanverb (used with object)
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oppresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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oppressed,
past participle, past
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oppressing
present participle
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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
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"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
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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:
“Yes, the queer community has villains, we have people who are seeking to oppress us,” Rice says in the film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
"These rules lack humanity and rationality, and they oppress us every day."
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
It’s also about finding connection with your own internal self to be able to face back against these systems that oppress you.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2024
But that doesn’t mean she’s motivated by a desire to oppress.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2024
Their desire is more just than that of the nobles—the former want not to be oppressed, while the latter want to oppress.
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
Therese’s illness oppresses the convent like a heavy blanket laid over spring’s green floor.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Years later, she testified against him, but rather than feeling empowered, she felt "oppressed and helpless" as she watched the man walk free under decades-old laws Hong Kong is now seeking to overhaul.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Subsequently, Ghalenoei described his side as the "most oppressed" team at the tournament.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
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
“And these are the times when we need it really badly, because somehow, we’re being oppressed all the time.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
Yet General Steyn oppressed us by omission rather than commission.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The mayor fumbled when asked in a radio show about the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim group that China has been accused of oppressing, saying “What’s a Uygher?”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
"You can't recruit people from the same group you are oppressing on a day-to-day basis," he says.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 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
In this country, as much as we have this long tradition of excluding and oppressing, we also have a tradition of overcoming and resilience and fighting together.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 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.
