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.

McDermott’s writing is often called “gemlike,” but that speaks to pressure as much as prettiness, as Tricia navigates war, marital strife and the increasing oppressiveness of the crowd of military wives that surrounds her.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2023

The parable Mitchell constructs actually does have broader philosophical underpinnings: It seems intended to evoke the oppressiveness of economic hierarchies.

From Washington Post • Oct. 15, 2021

But the oppressiveness of the music and the over-intensity of the staging never allow you to laugh at, and therefore enjoy, the ludicrousness of the story.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2018

It’s a space, says Silton, “that has this sense of oppressiveness inside.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2017

The Revolution, which reduced the royal prerogative, removed the oppressiveness of the royal supremacy.

From The History of Freedom by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron