oppression
Americannoun
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the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
- Synonyms:
- persecution, despotism, tyranny
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an act or instance of oppressing or subjecting to cruel or unjust impositions or restraints.
-
the state of being oppressed.
-
the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc.
noun
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the act of subjugating by cruelty, force, etc or the state of being subjugated in this way
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the condition of being afflicted or tormented
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the condition of having something lying heavily on one's mind, imagination, etc
Other Word Forms
- nonoppression noun
- preoppression noun
- self-oppression noun
Etymology
Origin of oppression
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English oppressioun, from Middle French, from Latin oppressiōn-, stem of oppressiō “a pressing down,” equivalent to oppress(us) “pressed down” + -iō noun suffix; oppress, -ion
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.
A complex, funny, plangently sorrowful Pygmalion story is enacted between two people who are connected but also held apart by their separate histories of oppression.
Most Americans would believe it is a danger to us, that it wishes us ill, that it has thrived on terror and oppression.
"It Was Just an Accident," by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, was filmed in secret and deals with a dilemma that victims of oppression sometimes face: should they take revenge or forgive those who imprisoned them?
From Barron's
“The most odious of all oppressions are those which mask as justice,” he warned.
From Salon
The minority, around two million of Syria's 20 million people, suffered decades of oppression under the Assad family's rule.
From Barron's
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.
