oppression

noun

op·​pres·​sion ə-ˈpre-shən 

1

a

: unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power

the continuing oppression of the … underclasses

—H. A. Daniels

b

: something that oppresses especially in being an unjust or excessive exercise of power

unfair taxes and other oppressions

2

: a sense of being weighed down in body or mind : depression

an oppression of spirits

Synonyms

• blue devils
• blues
• dejection
• depression
• desolation
• despond
• despondence
• despondency
• disconsolateness
• dispiritedness
• doldrums
• dolefulness
• downheartedness
• dreariness
• dumps
• forlornness
• gloom
• gloominess
• glumness
• heartsickness
• joylessness
• melancholy
• miserableness
• mopes
• mournfulness
• sadness
• sorrowfulness
• unhappiness

Examples of oppression in a Sentence

suffered a lingering oppression in the weeks after his dog died

Recent Examples on the Web

Enslaved people fought daily against this system of oppression. —Ana Lucia Araujo / Made By History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024

This is the Chinese Communist Party's playbook for political oppression. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

Instead, his hallucinatory drama explores themes like Black assimilation, imperial white oppression, eroticism, and the uneasy relationship between religion and power. —Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2024

This film directed by Babak Anvari compels by operating on two levels: the supernatural threat posed by the djinn and the real-world fears of war and societal oppression that plague so many. —Travis Bean, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English oppressioun, borrowed from Anglo-French oppression, borrowed from Latin oppressiōn-, oppressiō "action of pressing on or overpowering," from oppres- or *oppret-, variant stem of opprimere "to press on, stifle, overpower" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at oppress

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a