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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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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:
"These rules lack humanity and rationality, and they oppress us every day."
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
And we should be aware that others who abuse the word by taking it from us intend to oppress us.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2025
“You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2024
But that doesn’t mean she’s motivated by a desire to oppress.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2024
Cecile wouldn’t tell us to smile at anyone who tried to oppress us.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
“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
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
You talk about how music helps us make sense of our sorrows and what oppresses us, and to celebrate the joy, and what lifts us up.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2020
He wasn't using certain language or gestures as a means of reinforcing a system that oppresses certain groups of people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2018
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
Faux explained that, theoretically, yes, there are many ways that Bitcoin could serve the marginalized and oppressed: It could be used in international remittances; it could protect wealth against irresponsible governments.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
He posted Tuesday that "artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed."
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Jourdane spent his life championing the causes he believed in, such as safe conditions for workers, voting rights and standing up for the oppressed, his family said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Talarico, believing God is on the side of the oppressed and the marginalized, focuses his message to voters on equity and protecting personal freedom.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
I discovered for the first time people of my own age firmly aligned with the liberation struggle, who were prepared, despite their relative privilege, to sacrifice themselves for the cause of the oppressed.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“We took out a horrendous, horrible leader who was oppressing his own people,” Jost said.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2026
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
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
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.
