as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
forced to live under an oppressively cruel government
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Recent Examples of oppressively
Fortunately, this spell of hot temps will be a generally drier heat — not necessarily oppressively humid like is typical for New England.
—
Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
The first of the four chapters is an oppressively gray-toned, narratively diffuse spy thriller, set amid the mists of what appears to be the Second World War.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
The second planet from the sun has a completely inhospitable surface, with temperatures reaching 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius) and a crushing pressure underneath an oppressively thick atmosphere.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2025
On an oppressively hot Friday in July, plumes of smoke curl up from Arnolds Field.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
This type of behavior would have seemed brazen in 2019, when trains were oppressively crowded and riders sensed their vulnerability to theft and other forms of disorder.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2025
Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 19 May 2026
The first of the four chapters is an oppressively gray-toned, narratively diffuse spy thriller, set amid the mists of what appears to be the Second World War.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
The second planet from the sun has a completely inhospitable surface, with temperatures reaching 863 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius) and a crushing pressure underneath an oppressively thick atmosphere.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2025
On an oppressively hot Friday in July, plumes of smoke curl up from Arnolds Field.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
This type of behavior would have seemed brazen in 2019, when trains were oppressively crowded and riders sensed their vulnerability to theft and other forms of disorder.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressively
Adverb
-
The peak came as the Great Recession, touched off by a housing and financial crisis, rippled harshly through the global economy.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
-
Political dissent can be harshly policed outside the stadium, but domestic clubs’ most ardent fan groups, often called ultras, are brazenly outspoken in their cheering.—
Dan Greene,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
Adverb
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Few sites, however, became such frequent battlegrounds as the parking lots of Home Depots, where day laborers congregate, or were hit as persistently and severely as the open air car washes that dot sunny Southern California.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
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If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
13 June 2026
Adverb
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Netflix's latest adaptation of a Harlan Coben thriller is a dark story of a man accused of brutally killing his son.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
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In 2022, Kohberger brutally stabbed and killed Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle in their Moscow, Idaho rental home.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Oppressively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressively. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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