oppress
Use Oppress in a sentence
verb (used with object)
1.
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.
2.
to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.): Care and sorrow oppressed them.
3.
to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does.
4.
Archaic. to put down; subdue or suppress.
5.
Archaic. to press upon or against; crush.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English oppressen < Middle French oppresser < Medieval Latin oppressāre, derivative of Latin oppressus past participle of opprimere to squeeze, suffocate, equivalent to op- op- + -primere (combining form of premere) to press1
1300–50; Middle English oppressen < Middle French oppresser < Medieval Latin oppressāre, derivative of Latin oppressus past participle of opprimere to squeeze, suffocate, equivalent to op- op- + -primere (combining form of premere) to press1
Related forms
op·press·i·ble, adjective
op·pres·sor, noun
pre·op·press, verb (used with object)
pre·op·pres·sor, noun
re·op·press, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
1, 2. 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. 1. maltreat, persecute.
1, 2. 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. 1. maltreat, persecute.
Antonyms
2. uphold, encourage.
2. uphold, encourage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To oppress
00:10
Oppress
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
oppress (əˈprɛs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to subjugate by cruelty, force, etc |
| 2. | to afflict or torment |
| 3. | to lie heavy on (the mind, imagination, etc) |
| 4. | an obsolete word for overwhelm |
| [C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin oppressāre, from Latin opprimere, from ob- against + premere to press] | |
| op'pressingly | |
| —adv | |
| op'pressor | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
oppress
mid-14c., from O.Fr. oppresser (13c.), from M.L. oppressare, freq. of L. opprimere "press against, crush" (in L.L. "to rape"), from ob "against" + premere "to press, push" (see press (v.1)).
"It is the due [external] restraint and not the moderation of rulers that constitutes a state of liberty; as the power to oppress, though never exercised, does a state of slavery." [St. George Tucker, "View of the Constitution of the United States," 1803]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
Copyright are an oppressive measure to oppress learning and sharing of knowledge.
In both books the elite uses power to oppress, not enlighten.
We need to understand why the word was used, who used it, and the ways it oppressed and continues to oppress.
It is simultaneously the principle that unites and the principle that gives the nation the alleged right to oppress.
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