oppress

op·press

transitive verb \ə-ˈpres\

Definition of OPPRESS

1

a archaic : suppress

b : to crush or burden by abuse of power or authority

2

: to burden spiritually or mentally : weigh heavily upon

— op·pres·sor \-ˈpre-sər\ noun

Examples of OPPRESS

1. The country has long been oppressed by a ruthless dictator.
2. They condemned attempts by the government to oppress its citizens.
3. people who have traditionally been oppressed by society

Origin of OPPRESS

Middle English, from Anglo-French oppresser, from Latin oppressus, past participle of opprimere, from ob- against + premere to press — more at ob-, press

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to OPPRESS

Synonyms

bum (out), burden, dash, deject, get down, depress, sadden, weigh down

Antonyms

brighten, buoy, cheer (up), gladden, lighten, rejoice

Related Words

ail, distress, trouble; afflict, torment, torture; daunt, demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dismay, dispirit, get down, unnerve; agitate, bother, concern, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, disturb, exercise, freak (out), perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry

Near Antonyms

animate, enliven, invigorate; assure, comfort, console, reassure, solace, soothe; excite, inspire, stimulate; elate, exhilarate; encourage, hearten; delight, gratify, please; boost, elevate, lift, uplift

See Synonym Discussion at wrong

Rhymes with OPPRESS

abscess, access, address, aggress, assess, bench-press, caress, clothespress, coatdress, cold-press, compress, confess, cross-dress, CS, depress, de-stress, digress, distress, drill press, egress, excess, express, finesse, fluoresce, French press, full-dress, handpress, headdress, housedress, idlesse, impress, ingress, Meknes, much less, nightdress, noblesse, no less, obsess, outguess, possess, precess, prestress, princess, process, profess, progress, recess, redress, regress, re-press, repress, shirtdress, side-dress, SS, success, sundress, suppress, tendresse, top-dress, transgress, undress, unless, web press, winepress, word stress