oppression
[uh-presh-uhn]
- the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
- 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.
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Origin of oppression
Synonyms
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
brutalitydictatorshipmaltreatmentcrueltydespotismdominationabusesufferinginjusticepersecutioncoercioncontrolcompulsionforceseverityautocracyfascismharshnesscalamitytormentExamples from the Web for oppression
Contemporary Examples
Jundullah and Jaish ul Adl sprang up “in reaction to that kind of oppression,” he said.
If anything, every new religion emerged at least in part as a protest against violence and oppression.
But for many Muslim women, religion is seen as a source of liberation rather than a source of oppression.
Dovlatov was a merciless opponent of oppression, whose chief weapon was one dictatorships are rarely good at facing: humor.
Dovlatov hated Soviet oppression and battled repression subtly, by not condescending to notice it, and keeping things light.
Historical Examples
His self-mastery is the gift of his creator, and oppression, only, can take it away.
Cleveland Past and PresentMaurice Joblin
The demon of oppression had hidden her head ashamed, and fled to her den!
Ranald Bannerman's BoyhoodGeorge MacDonald
Some sense of oppression, of impending evil, hung over them both.
The Film of FearArnold Fredericks
The world was full of oppression, and envy, and drunkenness, and vain pleasures.
The Shadow of a CrimeHall Caine
The fact that Godolphin was slain, it must be confessed, was not in itself the source of his oppression.
The Sea-HawkRaphael Sabatini
oppression
- the act of subjugating by cruelty, force, etc or the state of being subjugated in this way
- the condition of being afflicted or tormented
- the condition of having something lying heavily on one's mind, imagination, etc
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for oppression
n.
mid-14c., "cruel or unjust use of power or authority," from Old French opression (12c.), from Latin oppressionem (nominative oppressio) "a pressing down; violence, oppression," noun of action from past participle stem of opprimere (see oppress). Meaning "action of weighing on someone's mind or spirits" is from late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper