Definition

1. Verb:
   • To treat people in a cruel and unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedom or rights as others: To exercise authority or power in a burdensome, harsh, or unjust manner.
   • To cause someone to feel worried, uncomfortable, or sad: To weigh heavily on the mind or spirits.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The dictator used the army to oppress his own people. (The ruler treated the citizens with severe cruelty and injustice.)
  • A sense of dread oppressed her as she entered the empty house. (A feeling of anxiety weighed heavily on her mind.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be oppressed by": to be burdened or afflicted by something.
  • He felt oppressed by the constant pressure to succeed. (He felt mentally burdened by the ongoing demands.)
• "the oppressed" (used as a plural noun): people who are subjected to oppression.
  • The revolution aimed to liberate the oppressed. (The uprising sought to free the people suffering under unjust rule.)

Variants and Related Words

• Oppression (n): The state of being subject to unjust treatment or control.
  • They fought against years of oppression.
• Oppressive (adj): Unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint; weighing heavily on the mind or senses.
  • The oppressive heat made it difficult to work.
  • They lived under an oppressive regime.
• Oppressor (n): A person or group that oppresses people.
  • The rebels vowed to overthrow their oppressors.

Synonyms

• Persecute: To subject someone to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their race or political or religious beliefs.
• Subjugate: To bring under domination or control, especially by conquest.
• Tyrannize: To rule or treat someone with cruel and unjust power.
• Crush: To defeat or subdue completely.

Antonyms

• Liberate: To set someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression.
• Emancipate: To set free, especially from legal, social, or political restrictions.
• Free: To release from confinement or oppression.

Related Phrases

• "Oppress with": to burden someone with something.
  • She oppressed him with her constant complaints. (She burdened him mentally with her unending criticisms.)

Verb

1. cause to suffer
   • Jews were persecuted in the former Soviet Union
2. come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
   • The government oppresses political activists