as in tyrants
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way
the dictatorship had scarcely been overthrown when the formerly oppressed suddenly abandoned their democratic ideals and became the oppressors
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Recent Examples of oppressors
Movie lovers tend to think of producers as dictators of formulas, oppressors of originality, the enemies of art, but that just reflects the unfortunate history of studio filmmaking in Hollywood and elsewhere.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
The poem presents the Trojans, and the future Romans of Virgil’s own time, as both the underdogs and the oppressors, both the migrants and the colonizers, both the wretched refugees and the imperial overlords.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
And Dafoe, an actor who’s always excelled at playing off-kilter figures, keeps us guessing about the soft-spoken but steely Anniston, who seems intent on paying for not only his sins but those of oppressors in general.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
The poem presents the Trojans, and the future Romans of Virgil’s own time, as both the underdogs and the oppressors, both the migrants and the colonizers, both the wretched refugees and the imperial overlords.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
And Dafoe, an actor who’s always excelled at playing off-kilter figures, keeps us guessing about the soft-spoken but steely Anniston, who seems intent on paying for not only his sins but those of oppressors in general.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressors
Noun
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And while the band's frontman Freddie Mercury only made it into his 40s, the song's question continues to haunt people—especially aging tyrants who fear that the icy hand of death is upon their shoulder and want far more time to ensure both national and personal glory.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
3 Sep. 2025
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But by positioning this as a story of a younger generation refusing to cede their liberties to tyrants, Loktev has made a film about resistance, putting a human face on the daily struggles concerned citizens must endure to take back their country.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The persecution worsened more than a decade ago during uprisings that remade the Middle East by toppling dictators — including Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak — but in some places spiraled into civil war.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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Movie lovers tend to think of producers as dictators of formulas, oppressors of originality, the enemies of art, but that just reflects the unfortunate history of studio filmmaking in Hollywood and elsewhere.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Oppressors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressors. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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