oppressing

verb

present participle of oppress
1
as in torturing
to make sad this gloomy weather is oppressing all of us

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in overcoming
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 oppressing Claiming that other people expressing their civil rights is oppressing them, and politicizing what are supposed to be non-partisan parts of how the government works on the state and federal level. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026 Norway was itself a colonizer, and programs oppressing indigenous cultures and languages were in place well into the 1960s. — Ola Morris Innset, The Dial, 2 June 2026 Having been raised not too far from similarly-minded environs, this Turkish critic knows that keeping a pure and noble familial slate in patriarchy often means oppressing women. — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 20 May 2026 Israel has been grievously oppressing people in its area who are not Jewish. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 May 2026 Underlying such obvious acts of aggression lies an insidious tendency for transnational repression to flow from despots into democracies, oppressing lawyers of all nationalities in the process. — Irwin Cotler, Time, 8 May 2026 In Russia, Cuba, Iran, Belarus, and Uganda, dictatorships have carried on for decades—oppressing and killing their people, attacking their neighbors, and destabilizing their regions. — Garry Kasparov, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026 Now, the Franciscan missionaries oppressing the Native Americans in the painting had arrows piercing their heads and bodies. — Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressing
  1. torturing
  2. overcoming
  3. depressing
  4. overwhelming
  5. burdening
  6. devastating
  7. troubling
  8. crushing
Verb
  • Arabella’s adoptive mother, Leticia McCormack, and her parents, Adella and Stanley Tom, were arrested three months later and accused of torturing the young girl to death.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Working off a few vague details, Bret begins to imagine a link between Robert and a serial killer known as the Trawler, who has been abducting and torturing young women around Los Angeles.
    — Leo Lasdun, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of torturing
Verb
  • Despite ongoing hurdles around interconnection queues and grid congestion, the scale of deployment shows developers are overcoming technical and regulatory barriers to support rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lorne Balfe From overcoming dyslexia with early synths to navigating AI, remote recording, and spatial audio, the blockbuster composer reveals how technology shapes his scores.
    — Benny Har-Even, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Also helping is Kevin Warsh, the new Federal Reserve head, who is working to get our central bank focused on currency stability as the way to fight inflation, rather than depressing economic activity.
    — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • The high-pressure system that’s causing temperature spikes, Ciliberti said, is also depressing much of the particulate matter, pushing it closer to the ground.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of depressing
Verb
  • The natural fabric layers seamlessly into English cottages, cozy urban apartments, and relaxed California homes alike, delivering gentle movement without overwhelming a space.
    — Nina Derwin, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But this year, the number and scale of foodborne illness outbreaks are overwhelming the system and disrupting the ability to respond.
    — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of overwhelming
Verb
  • But this month, the Coalition for Open Democracy, a voter advocacy group, filed a lawsuit, arguing the New Hampshire law is unconstitutional for burdening eligible students' right to vote and discriminating against younger voters for their age.
    — Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026
  • That finding should attract attention from state and local policymakers seeking practical ways to increase housing supply without burdening taxpayers or raising costs for builders and buyers.
    — Kileen Lindgren, Oc Register, 16 July 2026
Definition of burdening
Verb
  • The ceremony concluded a nearly 20-year struggle that profoundly shaped the latter decades of Caper’s life—a trial marked by devastating grief, institutional rejection, deteriorating health, and extraordinary perseverance.
    — Ethan Rocke, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Major hurricanes can cause wind damage ranging from devastating to catastrophic and significant loss of life from their winds alone.
    — Karina Zaiets, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • In the final, Simon had little to do as Argentina registered only two shots in 120 minutes of action, with neither troubling the Athletic Club goalkeeper.
    — Leon Imber, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • Campbell said Moore wanted to discuss what was troubling her privately but never got the chance.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2026
Definition of troubling
Verb
  • Of all the despots in the region, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was perhaps the most ruthless in crushing dissent.
    — Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
  • All of those results pointed to a single moment of crushing impact by something heavy and fast-moving.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of crushing

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Cite this Entry

“Oppressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressing. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of oppressing for Spanish Speakers

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