as in harsh
difficult to endure
an oppressive regime that rules through terror
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of oppressive
There’s a subtle sense that taking pleasure in domesticity might be a betrayal of my values—as if nurturing children, or even enjoying something as benign as baking, plays into oppressive tropes.
—
Samantha Mann, Time, 5 June 2025
For a filmmaker making gripping thrillers dealing with religion and oppressive politics, Tarik Saleh is surprisingly funny and joyful.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 May 2025
More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.
—Carlos Cubelo, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2025
The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for oppressive
Samantha Mann, Time, 5 June 2025
For a filmmaker making gripping thrillers dealing with religion and oppressive politics, Tarik Saleh is surprisingly funny and joyful.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 May 2025
More than 60 years ago, my parents fled Cuba for the United States, seeking freedom from an oppressive regime that dictated what businesses produced and how products were priced.
—Carlos Cubelo, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2025
The film follows a 40-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz, who is struggling with a rebellious son and other complications in a heavily oppressive patriarchal context.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for oppressive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressive
Adjective
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Come spring, the Ranger III carries everything from outhouses and diesel fuel for the generators to construction supplies to repair whatever damage Mother Nature did to facilities over the harsh winter.—
Diana Lambdin Meyer,
USA Today,
28 June 2025
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Yet the harshest critic is often the one in the mirror.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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The Yankees’ brutal offensive malaise stretched past a point anybody could have foreseen with a 1-0, 11-inning loss Monday night.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
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Late-stage valuations are inflating again, even as early-stage founders face a brutal fundraising climate.—
Sindhya Valloppillil,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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Even these young players already have major tournament experience — a huge strength given their tough group.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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However, generally speaking, insoluble fiber is commonly found in whole grains, bran, legumes, nuts, seeds, produce skins, and tough vegetables and fruits.—
Mara Santilli,
SELF,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Pritzker’s speech, which occurred as national Democrats were largely leaderless in countering and criticizing Trump’s early chaotic presidential moves, aimed to fill the vacuum and garnered significant attention by offering a searing response to the president for a national audience.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
24 June 2025
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And first baseman Colby Thorndyke comes in with a searing swing.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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In one study, participants with a history of Lyme were 8 to 15 times more likely to report moderate or severe fatigue than those who had never had the disease.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
18 June 2025
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One of the surviving passengers sustained a severe brain injury in the crash and was in a coma for four months.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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What is a totalitarian leader other than an individualist taking that creed to its cruel conclusions, erasing the uniqueness of every other person into mere characters in a drama?—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
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That first leg ended 1-0 — a slim aggregate lead — and in the second leg back on Kiwi soil, the Australians won 2-0 with one of their goals a cruel deflection.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Sandoval has received some pay bumps, including a temporary $10,000-a-year bonus for Hawaii special education teachers designed to alleviate shortages in that and other hard-to-staff areas.—
Alia Wong,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2023
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Whether those numbers are an overstatement, or possibly an understatement, is hard to say.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
13 Feb. 2023
Adjective
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Avoid scrubbing the microwave’s interior with rough materials like steel wool or abrasive sponges.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
27 June 2025
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Ransom Canyon star Josh Duhamel didn’t have a rough time getting to know the set of his new film Off the Grid because the actor lives off the grid in real-life.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oppressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressive. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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