oppress

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb oppress differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of oppress are aggrieve, persecute, and wrong. While all these words mean "to injure unjustly or outrageously," oppress suggests inhumane imposing of burdens one cannot endure or exacting more than one can perform.

a people oppressed by a warmongering tyrant

When could aggrieve be used to replace oppress?

In some situations, the words aggrieve and oppress are roughly equivalent. However, aggrieve implies suffering caused by an infringement or denial of rights.

a legal aid society representing aggrieved minority groups

When might persecute be a better fit than oppress?

Although the words persecute and oppress have much in common, persecute implies a relentless and unremitting subjection to annoyance or suffering.

a child persecuted by constant criticism

When is it sensible to use wrong instead of oppress?

While the synonyms wrong and oppress are close in meaning, wrong implies inflicting injury either unmerited or out of proportion to what one deserves.

a penal system that had wronged him

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oppress In today's therapy culture, people are cast as either oppressed or oppressors, as if those are the only options. Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025 However, with a market oppressed by regulations and federal tax burdens, the industry outcomes have been mixed. Iris Dorbian, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 First, students are primed through exposure to narratives that depict a binary world of oppressors and oppressed. Kevin Waldman, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2025 The idea of exploiting the Palestinian cause to oppress the Syrian people has been rejected. Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for oppress
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppress
Verb
  • This year brought two new adverse factors — President Donald Trump’s tariffs that could generate retaliatory tariffs, depressing export markets, and Trump’s sweeps of undocumented immigrants, who are a major portion of the agricultural labor force.
    Dan Walters, Mercury News, 25 June 2025
  • Most Fed officials are worried surging import taxes could depress growth while restarting what had been cooling inflation pressures.
    Michael S. Derby, USA Today, 24 June 2025
Verb
  • The number of wild burros roaming pine forests and sagebrush fields has grown in recent years, with experts worried that the miniature beasts of burden could overwhelm rare and endangered species of plants.
    Annie Goodykoontz, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
  • That means empowering employees, not overwhelming them.
    Dan Adika, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • You might feel caught in ingrained reactions, wishing for different responses or burdened by the sense that despite achievements, something vital is missing.
    Neerja Bhatia, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
  • They might have been burdened with the weight of Indian expectations on their shoulders at Headingley.
    Paul Newman, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • While everyone gives the duo a standing ovation, Zoe and company are devastated, knowing the truth.
    Barry Levitt, Time, 20 June 2025
  • The storm came ashore about 100 miles east of Acapulco, the city devastated by Hurricane Otis in October 2023.
    Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • Nicolás Maduro and his enforcers are running a criminal narco-terrorist dictatorship that jails political opponents, tortures dissidents, and crushes any hope of free expression.
    Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2025
  • An immigration judge determined that he would likely be persecuted or tortured if deported to Guatemala again, and granted him an order protecting him from removal.
    Solcyré Burga, Time, 25 June 2025
Verb
  • Advertisement Indiana tried its best to overcome heartbreak in Game 7: Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ star point guard who was playing with a calf strain in his right leg, suffered an achilles injury in the first quarter.
    Sean Gregory, Time, 23 June 2025
  • The Thunder overcame two Game 7s en route to the title, and they will now forever be called champions.
    Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Food Network star and celebrity chef Anne Burrell's death has saddened her fans, friends and peers, including Burrell's own bridesmaid Rachael Ray, who is mourning the loss of her close friend.
    Jay Stahl, USA Today, 21 June 2025
  • And then there’s a request for you and me and all who have been saddened or angered or somehow changed by the actions of this new world order.
    Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • The lack of specificity in the board’s response to the community troubles former board member Judi Schaim.
    Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 June 2025
  • After a few years of decreasing infection, the pests rarely trouble citrus trees.
    Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Oppress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppress. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

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