oppresses

verb

present tense third-person singular of oppress
1
as in depresses
to make sad this gloomy weather is oppressing all of us

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in overwhelms
to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress a film about a man who is haunted and oppressed by the secrets of his past

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 oppresses It is governed by a brutal regime that oppresses its people and is an enemy to the United States. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026 His policies have been instrumental in dismantling the criminal enterprise that oppresses the Venezuelan people. — Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025 White supremacy oppresses all of humanity. — Monifa Dayo, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppresses
  1. depresses
  2. overwhelms
  3. tortures
  4. devastates
  5. saddens
  6. overcomes
  7. troubles
  8. burdens
Verb
  • The knob twists and depresses like a button (with programmable options for both a short and long press).
    — Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Nevertheless, something might occur at work that depresses you.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 10 June 2026
Definition of depresses
Verb
  • And yet, in Yoon’s hands, a character’s suffering never overwhelms their capacity for tenderness.
    — Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • One person has died and rescues are underway as catastrophic flooding overwhelms the Hill Country, a little more than a year after the July 4 floods killed more than 130 people in Central Texas.
    — Mary Ella Hastings July 16, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 July 2026
Definition of overwhelms
Verb
  • After Max tortures them in a mock-trial confrontation in their living room, Tom eventually tackles Max into the backyard pool.
    — Benjamin VanHoose, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026
  • On his latest Hyperdub release, the Japanese producer born Takahide Higuchi sings more than on previous records but tortures his voice through a gauntlet of pitch-shifter effects.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 July 2026
Definition of tortures
Verb
  • As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The urban planner and former professor also knows what happens next after a powerful earthquake devastates whole communities.
    — Luis Giraldo, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastates
Verb
  • However, that really saddens me now.
    — Abigail Wise, Outside, 3 Jan. 2026
  • Being stuck in the middle is what saddens the Others.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025
Definition of saddens
Verb
  • Somaliland is proximate and overcomes some of the limitations imposed by other regional hosts like Djibouti and Middle East partners.
    — Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcomes
Verb
  • But what troubles him most is not only what has disappeared from textbooks.
    — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
  • One death especially, that of his young cousin Sinon (Elliot Page), troubles him most of all.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026
Definition of troubles
Verb
  • Unfortunately, Brebner then burdens her with an overwritten internal monologue that would make more sense if Anna’s previous career had been as a Broadway writer.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The legal scholars watching this expect the eventual fights to turn on old questions, whether a state law unduly burdens interstate commerce, whether federal rules quietly override it.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
Definition of burdens

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Cite this Entry

“Oppresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppresses. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of oppresses for Spanish Speakers

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