OPPRESS Definition & Meaning

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oppress

[ uh-pres ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power:
a people oppressed by totalitarianism.
Synonyms: ,
to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.):
Care and sorrow oppressed them.
Antonyms: ,
to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does.
Archaic. to put down; subdue or suppress.
Archaic. to press upon or against; crush.

oppress

/ əˈ��ɛ�� /

verb

to subjugate by cruelty, force, etc
to afflict or torment
to lie heavy on (the mind, imagination, etc)
an obsolete word for overwhelm

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Derived Forms

�Ǳ�ˈ��ǰ�, noun
�Ǳ�ˈ��Բ��, adverb

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Other �y��vlog Forms

�Ǳ�·��·��·�� adjective
�Ǳ�·��·��ǰ� noun
��·�Ǳ�·�� verb (used with object)
��·�Ǳ�·�� verb (used with object)
un·�Ǳ�·��·��·�� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of oppress¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English oppressen, from Middle French oppresser, from Medieval Latin �Ǳ��, derivative of Latin oppressus, past participle of opprimere “to squeeze, suffocate,” equivalent to op- “to, toward, against” + -primere (combining form of premere ) “to press”; op-, press ¹

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of oppress¹

C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin �Ǳ��, from Latin opprimere, from ob- against + premere to press

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Synonym Study

Oppress, depress, both having the literal meaning to press down upon, to cause to sink, are today mainly limited to figurative applications. To oppress is usually to subject (a people) to burdens, to undue exercise of authority, and the like; its chief application, therefore, is to a social or political situation: a tyrant oppressing his subjects. Depress suggests mainly the psychological effect, upon the individual, of unpleasant conditions, situations, etc., that sadden and discourage: depressed by the news. When oppress is sometimes used in this sense, it suggests a psychological attitude of more complete hopelessness: oppressed by a sense of failure.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The op-ed called for Tufts “to end its complicity with Israel insofar as it is oppressing the Palestinian people and denying their right to self-determination — a right guaranteed by international law.“

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And we should be aware that others who abuse the word by taking it from us intend to oppress us.

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Irish history also does not, I hasten to add, confer automatic solidarity with oppressed peoples around the world.

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He once told her that he believed oppressed people had a type of “telepathy” that bonded them all together, she said.

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Abdul Ghani promised that security forces would also "give the investigating committee the full opportunity to uncover the circumstances of these incidents, verify the facts and deliver justice to the oppressed".

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