oppressor

[ uh-pres-er ]

/ əˈprɛs ər /

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See synonyms for oppressor on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or group that exercises authority or power over another in a harsh and burdensome way:Meanwhile the oppressors, blind to the brutal and unjust practices sustaining their dominance, simply increase the level of force against any who resist.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of oppressor

First recorded in 1375–1425; oppress + -or²

OTHER WORDS FROM oppressor

pre·op·pres·sor, nounself-op·pres·sor, noun

Words nearby oppressor

opposition research, oppress, oppressed, oppression, oppressive, oppressor, opprobrious, opprobrium, oppugn, oppugnant, OPRA

How to use oppressor in a sentence

You are either on the side of the oppressed or on the side of the oppressor.
Desmond Tutu, Anti-Apartheid Campaigner Who Tried to Heal the World, Dies at 90|Aryn Baker|December 26, 2021|Time
Anyone who felt the boot of the oppressor realized that he was going in the face of that.
Ken Burns’s latest is on the Greatest|Jamil Smith|September 23, 2021|Vox
The many, many people who think racism is over or overblown, or that its dominant historic forms have been overturned and the oppressors have become the oppressed, will not pick up her book.
Racism targets some but works against everybody|Paul Taylor|March 12, 2021|Washington Post
A Western hero, Indiana Jones, came to their rescue to teach their oppressors a text-based lesson.
How Indiana Jones, Rambo, and others ended up in 1980s Czechoslovak text-adventures|Ars Staff|October 23, 2020|Ars Technica

Question those taking on the mantle of victimhood and you are immediately cast as some kind of aggressive, unfeeling oppressor.
What the U-VA Rape Case Tells Us About a Victim Culture Gone Mad|Lizzie Crocker|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In order to be elusive and to have longevity, the oppressor has learned to kill MEN while their bodies remain alive.
Deep Thoughts from War Machine's Sexist, Racist Prison Blog|Melissa Leon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So many of you ARE MEN but you got trapped by the oppressor.
Deep Thoughts from War Machine's Sexist, Racist Prison Blog|Melissa Leon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This man, your oppressor, is automatically morally defeated, and if he has any conscience, he is ashamed.
Alex Haley’s 1965 Playboy Interview with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.|Alex Haley|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When you have a cause, the best way to express yourself is artistically,” he says, against “the scissor of the oppressor.
Hani Abbas Extends the Vital Tradition of Political Cartooning in the Mideast|Patrick Hilsman|October 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the latter case the prince-bishop was the obnoxious oppressor.
German Culture Past and Present|Ernest Belfort Bax
The impossibility of escaping from the hand of the oppressor.
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Edward Gibbon
These alone were ready to step between the oppressor and the oppressed.
A Plea for Captain John Brown|Henry David Thoreau
He was obliged to bow to fortune, and to swear allegiance once more to what he considered the oppressor.
The Mysteries of Montreal|Charlotte Fuhrer
Forty years will have expired this spring since the Christian peasants of Bulgaria rose in arms against the Turkish oppressor.
Raemaekers' Cartoons|Louis Raemaekers