- 1oppress somebody to treat somebody in a cruel and unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people The regime is accused of oppressing religious minorities. Throughout history, our people have been oppressed and exploited. Wordfinderfreedomallow, emancipation, freedom, imprisonment, independence, liberty, oppress, restriction, rule, slave See related entries: Terrorism
- 2oppress somebody to make somebody only able to think about sad or worrying things synonym weigh down The gloomy atmosphere in the office oppressed her. He was beginning to feel oppressed by his surroundings. Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French oppresser, from medieval Latin oppressare, from Latin oppress- ‘pressed against’, from the verb opprimere.
oppress
verbBrE BrE//əˈpres//; NAmE NAmE//əˈpres//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they oppress BrE BrE//əˈpres//; NAmE NAmE//əˈpres//
he / she / it oppresses BrE BrE//əˈpresɪz//; NAmE NAmE//əˈpresɪz//
past simple oppressed BrE BrE//əˈprest//; NAmE NAmE//əˈprest//
past participle oppressed BrE BrE//əˈprest//; NAmE NAmE//əˈprest//
-ing form oppressing BrE BrE//əˈpresɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//əˈpresɪŋ//
TerrorismCheck pronunciation: oppress
