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
-
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
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.
Bobi Wine defended Ampe, saying he was using social media to "expose corruption, abuse of power, oppression of lower ranking officers and other evils within the Uganda Prisons Service".
From BBC
Ms Mohammadi, the vice-president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights.
From BBC
Ms Mohammadi was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her activism against female oppression in Iran and promoting human rights.
From BBC
She has spent years behind bars, and gained global attention for speaking out against the oppression of women and torture of dissidents under Iran’s theocratic regime.
Members of the government say this is about empowering young girls, arguing it is to protect them "from oppression".
From BBC
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.
