oppressor
Americannoun
-
oppressors
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of oppressor
First recorded in 1375–1425; oppress ( def. ) + -or 2 ( def. )
Explanation
An oppressor is any authority (a group or a person) that uses its power unjustly to keep people under control. Many rebellious teenagers view their parents as oppressors, but the word is usually used to refer to dictators. While you might complain about your oppressor, the teacher who makes you stay late to catch up on assignments you missed, a true oppressor denies basic human rights to people who live under their control. Before Partition in 1947, the citizens of India mostly viewed their British rulers as oppressors — in some cases, Indian farmers were forced by the British to grow non-food crops, causing thousands to starve. The Latin root is opprimere, "to crush or subdue."
Vocabulary lists containing oppressor
Every Falling Star
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A Night Divided
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 3
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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.
See Examples For:
Linda, a “Survivor” fan who pleasure-reads books about making it in the wild, suddenly gains strength over her corporate oppressor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
To keep them, he said, meant treating the victim the same as the oppressor.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
Evidence of enjoyment of life directly rebuts the central proposition of the oppressor – namely, that the oppressed is inferior.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
“Somehow this narrative got mixed up that Jews are an oppressor rather than an oppressee, and I don’t know how that narrative came about,” Mark said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
What actual human being, assured of his right to live, would set about begging his oppressors to accept the sacrifice of his identity?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
Joy proves defiant to the shadowy oppressors who wish to see their “enemies” suffer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
The victims, he said, should not be treated the same way as the oppressors.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2024
I believed that his election would erase racism and force oppressors to see the errors of their ways.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2024
I want to be like Moses, who led the children of Israel from the land of the oppressors.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
