oppressed

adjective

op·​pressed ə-ˈprest 

: burdened by abuse of power or authority

Group identity in oppressed groups is always very strategic, always a calculation of advantage.

—Shelby Steele

They are neither oppressed minorities, whose needs have been etched into the nation's consciousness, nor members of the ruling elite, born with their hands on the reins of power.

—Anthony DeCurtis

Synonyms

• crushed
• downtrodden
• persecuted
• tyrannized

Examples of oppressed in a Sentence

setting out on a quixotic quest to right wrongs and to raise up the oppressed peoples of the world

Recent Examples on the Web

All of a sudden, the Trump administration is positioning itself as a champion of the rights of oppressed minorities abroad yearning for the liberty and security that can be found only within America’s borders. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 13 May 2025

For the politically oppressed and those in the global south, cryptocurrency isn't about wealth accumulation. —Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, likewise viewed Exodus as a revolutionary call for oppressed people to rise against injustice. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025

That ecstatic communal experience is a glorious moment of freedom for oppressed people, most of them living hand-to-mouth in an environment of hatred and exploitation. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing oppressed

• the oppressed

Rhymes for oppressed

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed