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
  • The shape-shifting eldritch entity of mysterious origins relishes torturing children.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But, if not, then stop using the existence of those goals as a way of torturing yourself.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of torturing
Verb
  • This design continually reflects the laser inside the stream via total internal reflection, overcoming the need for focal-point or Rayleigh-length adjustments.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Augusto, Marrero, Hernández and countless others have little choice but to figure things out which, in Cuban parlance, means overcoming whatever obstacle is placed in their way.
    — Juan Carlos López, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Idaho Dairymen’s Association CEO Rick Naerebout told the Statesman that over the years there has been frustration in the industry with Canada over dairy regulations and trade policies depressing world market prices.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of depressing
Verb
  • By the end, the clasp, which incorporates a personal poem, looms large in comparison, representing the virus overwhelming the community.
    — Livia Caligor, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Adversaries may soon be able to fly drones in coordinated swarms using AI, effectively overwhelming any defenses.
    — Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 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 country is also recovering from devastating back-to-back earthquakes in June that have so far killed over 6,000 people.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Rescue operations and clean-up crews are still working in the wake of last week’s devastating debris avalanche and floods in Nepal and Tibet.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of devastating
Verb
  • Troubleshooting Tips If your Venus flytrap looks unwell, but is otherwise well watered, here’s what may be troubling your plant.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of troubling
Verb
  • The process begins by crushing and grinding magnets before digestion and separation of base metals, including iron, manganese, aluminum, nickel, copper, and boron.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Rewriting the Instruction Hierarchy Right now, the system's internal developer guardrails sit at the absolute top of the logic pyramid, completely crushing user inputs.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 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 13 Sep. 2026.

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