as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
forced to live under an oppressively cruel government
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Recent Examples of oppressively
On an oppressively hot Friday in July, plumes of smoke curl up from Arnolds Field.
—
Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressively
Adverb
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Hilleary, at the campaign event, also harshly criticized Biden’s immigration policies and his administration’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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Always use gentle, soft tools like an old toothbrush to scrub away grime in tough corners or nooks, but avoid scrubbing harshly.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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But with Burrow now looking likely to miss the majority of the regular season, those chances look severely diminished.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
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This stagnation can severely impact marketability and career growth when the labor market eventually improves.—
Kara Dennison,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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This recent history reminds us just how brutally inflation spikes can demolish market confidence.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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In February, 2024, when a nursing student named Laken Riley was brutally raped and murdered by a Venezuelan immigrant in Georgia, Republicans at the state and national level argued that the perpetrator was connected to Tren de Aragua.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oppressively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressively. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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