oppressive
Americanadjective
-
burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical.
an oppressive king;
oppressive laws.
-
causing discomfort by being excessive, intense, elaborate, etc..
oppressive heat.
-
distressing or grievous.
oppressive sorrows.
adjective
-
cruel, harsh, or tyrannical
-
heavy, constricting, or depressing
Other Word Forms
- nonoppressive adjective
- nonoppressively adverb
- nonoppressiveness noun
- oppressively adverb
- oppressiveness noun
- self-oppressive adjective
- unoppressive adjective
- unoppressively adverb
- unoppressiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of oppressive
First recorded in 1620–30; from Medieval Latin oppresīvus, equivalent to Latin oppress(us) “pressed down” ( oppress ) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Think of something crushing you, and you will understand what oppressive is. It can be something that crushes your spirit, like a bad relationship, or something that crushes you with its tyranny, like the oppressive rule of a dictator. Oppressive comes in many flavors; laws can be oppressive, governments can be oppressive, even relationships can be oppressive. The adjective oppressive is heavy stuff; it can feel like you can't breathe, like something is choking you: "His oppressive behavior made me feel like I was being smothered." If something is just too intense, and not in a good way, that also can feel oppressive.
Vocabulary lists containing oppressive
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Tuck Everlasting
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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.
The pain and exhaustion and grief are so real and oppressive, the camera never dares set a foot outside.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
We can and should hope for a better outcome for Iranians than for Iraqis: freedom from an oppressive regime, minimal death and destruction, a smooth democratic transition, a functional democracy, a peaceful and prosperous society.
From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026
A woman in her 20s in Tehran said she believed Mojtaba Khamenei would be "even more oppressive than his dad".
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
And the dominant instinct in India is to tinker with onerous rules to make them somewhat less oppressive rather than attempt a sweeping overhaul.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
The heat was oppressive and her fair-skinned face red from the sun.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
