oppression
Americannoun
-
oppression
plural
-
the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
- Synonyms:
- persecution, despotism, tyranny
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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; see oppress, -ion
Explanation
Oppression is when a person or group in a position of power controls the less powerful in cruel and unfair ways. Not cool. “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Those words came from Frederick Douglass, a former slave who devoted his life to ending the oppression of black people at the hands of powerful white slaveowners. The Latin root means “pressed against,” and oppression feels like hands pressing your head, keeping you down. Oppression can be widespread throughout a culture, or felt by a single individual, like enduring the sun’s oppression on a hot summer day.
Vocabulary lists containing oppression
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr.
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Lenkinski is an Israeli American who has spent more than two decades working against Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and helping lead organizations that pushed for democracy and equality there.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Researchers believe those lower estimates were influenced by the widespread population losses caused by disease, frontier violence, and systemic oppression before the earliest Australian censuses were conducted.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
Last year, ECB chair Richard Thompson described the Taliban's oppression of women and girls as "gender apartheid".
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The council said human rights in Afghanistan were deteriorating and voiced serious concern about the "grave, worsening, widespread and systematic oppression of all women and girls in Afghanistan by the Taliban".
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
I am writing this book in the hope of enlightening readers about the journey an African-American takes in having to grow up and live under the laws and traditions of oppression.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
