as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
suffered a lingering oppression in the weeks after his dog died
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Recent Examples of oppression
In January, a Bexar County grand jury indicted the judge on charges of unlawful restraint by a peace officer, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and official oppression, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
—
Gabriella Ybarra, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Apr. 2026
Despite its hedonistic reputation—or, rather, in tandem with its hedonistic reputation—electroclash was a way to fight oppression with the power of sounding super, super gay.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Sometimes, men were overwhelmed, and many opened up to the possibility of feminism, doubled down, then opened up again, oscillating wildly between solidarity and oppression.
—Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, the trio created rousing anti-apartheid protest theater that brought global attention to South African oppression at great personal risk.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for oppression
Gabriella Ybarra, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Apr. 2026
Despite its hedonistic reputation—or, rather, in tandem with its hedonistic reputation—electroclash was a way to fight oppression with the power of sounding super, super gay.
—Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Sometimes, men were overwhelmed, and many opened up to the possibility of feminism, doubled down, then opened up again, oscillating wildly between solidarity and oppression.
—Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026
Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, the trio created rousing anti-apartheid protest theater that brought global attention to South African oppression at great personal risk.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for oppression
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppression
Noun
-
The scene where Artax the horse gets stuck in the swamps of sadness?—
Redazione People,
Vanity Fair,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Family members said it’s been a long road of frustration, agony and sadness watching Hitchcock’s death sentences get overturned three times amid the nearly a dozen appeals his attorneys have filed over the decades.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And some experience the emotional toll of a disability or chronic pain that can often lead to depression.—
Mike Flynn,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
That study, which included doses of magnesium to mitigate any cardiac issues, found significant improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms after treatment.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
His reputation, as captured by obituaries in the Guardian and the Times of London, is one of genteel melancholy and precise social observation.—
Charlie Tyson,
Harpers Magazine,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Still, the achievement carried a touch of melancholy for Lovell.—
Daniel I. Dorfman,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Unique is meant to embody that racial trauma, but Moore doesn’t possess the grit necessary to make the pain and sorrow resonate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
-
The reader feels the moment’s vitality and presence, and the sorrow at its loss, but not because Ford insists on it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
He was injured and absent from the squad that lost the Championship play-off final here two years ago, but, on this occasion, he would not be spared that especially severe kind of anguish under the arch.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Yet, Seth and Bynum are skeptical of Herold, whose torment and anguish cloaks him better than his long grey coat.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oppression.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppression. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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