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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oppressors
An America where justice brings down oppressors and lifts up the ordinary.
—
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
And did the advocates of this collective pedagogy imagine their children rising to heights of power, only to view the darker nations of the world through the same violent lens as their oppressors?
—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
To Be Whole,' which teaches that the United States was founded on 'white supremacy' and categorizes individuals as 'oppressors' and 'oppressed' based only on their skin color, not their individual decisions and actions.
—
Gabriela Vidal,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Meanwhile, Annie as played by Tess Barthélémy copes in two ways with being surrounded by caricaturish oppressors.
—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
18 May 2026
Cuba needs to be rid of its oppressors once and for all, as quickly as possible.
—
Carlos Eire,
Time,
23 Apr. 2026
In the piece, the Vicar of Christ is felled not by his oppressors but rather by a random cosmic event.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
During the confrontation, Hussein and his followers were massacred, but the imam’s quest for justice became a defining value of Shiite identity, fostering a sense of revolutionary duty to fight oppressors at any cost.
—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
For Iran, what counts is resistance, against arrogant and wicked oppressors, chiefly the United States and Israel.
—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
And did the advocates of this collective pedagogy imagine their children rising to heights of power, only to view the darker nations of the world through the same violent lens as their oppressors?
—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
To Be Whole,' which teaches that the United States was founded on 'white supremacy' and categorizes individuals as 'oppressors' and 'oppressed' based only on their skin color, not their individual decisions and actions.
—
Gabriela Vidal,
CBS News,
9 June 2026
Meanwhile, Annie as played by Tess Barthélémy copes in two ways with being surrounded by caricaturish oppressors.
—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
18 May 2026
Cuba needs to be rid of its oppressors once and for all, as quickly as possible.
—
Carlos Eire,
Time,
23 Apr. 2026
In the piece, the Vicar of Christ is felled not by his oppressors but rather by a random cosmic event.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
During the confrontation, Hussein and his followers were massacred, but the imam’s quest for justice became a defining value of Shiite identity, fostering a sense of revolutionary duty to fight oppressors at any cost.
—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
For Iran, what counts is resistance, against arrogant and wicked oppressors, chiefly the United States and Israel.
—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressors
Noun
-
Aegon, dragged out of King’s Landing by spymaster Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) in an effort to save him from the fratricidal Aemond, gets an up-close look at the petty tyrants who have sprouted up in the countryside thanks to his impetuous rule.
-
Examples range from businesses like Enron, Tyco, and Bernie Madoff, along with historical tyrants like Stalin or Hitler to modern figures like Putin, and industries like tobacco that knowingly harm users for profit.
Noun
-
Will people who flee dictators and endless poverty be permitted lawfully to cross America’s shores and borders in search of a better life?
-
Russian athletes are routinely asked to answer for the actions of their government, yet athletes from other countries are rarely subjected to the same scrutiny or treated as though they are personally aligned with war criminals or dictators.
Cite this Entry
“Oppressors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressors. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
