Definition of oppressive
1 : unreasonably burdensome or severe oppressive legislation oppressive taxes the oppressive power of corporations and Wall Street — Jim Hightower
2 : tyrannical an oppressive government
3 : overwhelming or depressing to the spirit or senses an oppressive climate the dusty drabness that was oppressive in its uneventfulness — Geoffrey Moorhouse
oppressively
adverboppressiveness
nounPeople Are Reading
Examples of oppressive in a Sentence
The country is ruled by an oppressive regime.
I think these laws are oppressive.
This region suffers from oppressive heat in the summer months.
The situation was extremely tense; no one said a word, and the silence was oppressive.
Recent Examples of oppressive from the Web
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Hamas runs the strip as an increasingly corrupt and oppressive one-party state, with a strictly controlled press and a nervous populace who clam up or look over their shoulders before talking about the government.
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Black American culture, for example, grew from implacably oppressive slavery followed by a Jim Crow hegemony that recapitulated slavery in essence.
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A common problem with these types of game designs is oppressive downtime; participants lose interest quickly when double-digit minutes break up your interactions with the game.
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More than 30,000 North Koreans now live in South Korea, having fled poverty, hunger and the relentless pressures of life in an oppressive, authoritarian state.
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As the oppressive heat and humidity begins its daily onslaught in New Orleans, second-line groups are calling it a wrap for the season.
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His mission is to reform it into something productive, or at least not oppressive, from within.
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The oppressive heat is expected to continue throughout the west this weekend, with triple-digit temperatures in Portland, Oregon.
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By the book Under the less oppressive President Hassan Rouhani, female authors in Iran are starting to see their books in print.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oppressive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of oppressive
circa 1677
Synonym Discussion of oppressive
OPPRESSIVE Defined for English Language Learners
oppressive
playDefinition of oppressive for English Language Learners
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: very cruel or unfair
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: very unpleasant or uncomfortable
OPPRESSIVE Defined for Kids
oppressive
playDefinition of oppressive for Students
1 : cruel or harsh without just cause oppressive laws
2 : very unpleasant or uncomfortable oppressive heat
oppressively
adverbLearn More about oppressive
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See words that rhyme with oppressive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for oppressive Spanish Central: Translation of oppressive Nglish: Translation of oppressive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of oppressive for Arabic speakers
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