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
The oppressively hot and steamy weather was no deterrent for the crowds that lined up along Crandon Boulevard on Saturday to celebrate America’s independence at Key Biscayne’s 67th Fourth of July parade.
—
Pedro Portal,
Miami Herald,
4 July 2026
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
Pedro Portal,
Miami Herald,
4 July 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressively
Adverb
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Overthinking and procrastination are two of the habits people confess to most readily and blame on themselves most harshly, and two of the habits most often misread.
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That can be useful because jurors can be more reluctant to sentence a woman harshly, writes Victor Streib, a law professor at Elon University in North Carolina who has researched the treatment of women on death row.
Adverb
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Atmos is already facing a lawsuit over the explosion from a resident who was severely burned.
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Nearby Elephant Butte Lake, a draw for outdoorsy tourists, is so severely drought-depleted that sunbaked fish carcasses line its shores.
Adverb
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Instead, the Philippine independence movement was brutally suppressed.
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On a brutally hot afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the site of the World Cup final in July 19, France outshot Sweden 25-7, including 15-3 in the first half.
Cite this Entry
“Oppressively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressively. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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