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Synonyms
oppress - 4 dictionary results
op⋅press
[uh-pres] 
–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; ME oppressen < MF oppresser < ML oppressāre, deriv. of L oppressus ptp. of opprimere to squeeze, suffocate, equiv. to op- op- + -primere (comb. form of premere) to press 1
1300–50; ME oppressen < MF oppresser < ML oppressāre, deriv. of L oppressus ptp. of opprimere to squeeze, suffocate, equiv. to op- op- + -primere (comb. form of premere) to press 1
Related forms:
op⋅press⋅i⋅ble, adjective
op⋅pres⋅sor, noun
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. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To oppress
| op·press (ə-prěs') tr.v. op·pressed, op·press·ing, op·press·es
[Middle English oppressen, from Old French opresser, back-formation from oppression, oppression, from Latin oppressiō, oppressiōn-, from oppressus, past participle of opprimere, to press against : ob-, against; see ob- + premere, to press; see per-4 in Indo-European roots.] op·pres'sor n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Oppress
Op*press"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Oppressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Oppressing.] [F. oppresser, LL. oppressare, fr. L. oppressus, p. p. of opprimere; ob (see Ob-) + premere to press. See Press.]1. To impose excessive burdens upon; to overload; hence, to treat with unjust rigor or with cruelty. --Wyclif. For thee, oppress[`e]d king, am I cast down. --Shak. Behold the kings of the earth; how they oppress Thy chosen ! --Milton. 2. To ravish; to violate. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 3. To put down; to crush out; to suppress. [Obs.] The mutiny he there hastes to oppress. --Shak. 4. To produce a sensation of weight in (some part of the body); as, my lungs are oppressed by the damp air; excess of food oppresses the stomach.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : oppress
Spanish:
oprimir,
German:
unterdrücken,
Japanese:
圧迫する
oppress
c.1340, 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)). Oppression (1340) "harsh exercise of authority" is from O.Fr. opression, from L. oppressionem (nom. oppressio), from pp. stem of opprimere.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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