OPPRESS Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'oppress' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of oppress are aggrieve , persecute , and wrong . While all these words mean "to injure unjustly or outrageously," oppress suggests inhumane imposing of burdens one cannot endure or exacting more than one can perform. // a people oppressed by a warmongering tyrant

Q: When could 'aggrieve' be used to replace 'oppress'?

In some situations, the words aggrieve and oppress are roughly equivalent. However, aggrieve implies suffering caused by an infringement or denial of rights. // a legal aid society representing aggrieved minority groups

Q: When might 'persecute' be a better fit than 'oppress'?

Although the words persecute and oppress have much in common, persecute implies a relentless and unremitting subjection to annoyance or suffering. // a child persecuted by constant criticism

Q: When is it sensible to use 'wrong' instead of 'oppress'?

While the synonyms wrong and oppress are close in meaning, wrong implies inflicting injury either unmerited or out of proportion to what one deserves. // a penal system that had wronged him

oppress

verb

ə-ˈpres

Definition of oppress next

as in to depress

to make sad this gloomy weather is oppressing all of us

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to overwhelm

to subject to incapacitating emotional or mental stress a film about a man who is haunted and oppressed by the secrets of his past

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How does the verb oppress differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of oppress are aggrieve, persecute, and wrong. While all these words mean "to injure unjustly or outrageously," oppress suggests inhumane imposing of burdens one cannot endure or exacting more than one can perform.

a people oppressed by a warmongering tyrant

When could aggrieve be used to replace oppress?

In some situations, the words aggrieve and oppress are roughly equivalent. However, aggrieve implies suffering caused by an infringement or denial of rights.

a legal aid society representing aggrieved minority groups

When might persecute be a better fit than oppress?

Although the words persecute and oppress have much in common, persecute implies a relentless and unremitting subjection to annoyance or suffering.

a child persecuted by constant criticism

When is it sensible to use wrong instead of oppress?

While the synonyms wrong and oppress are close in meaning, wrong implies inflicting injury either unmerited or out of proportion to what one deserves.

a penal system that had wronged him

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 oppress The organization championed self-determination and economic independence for Black people at a time when Jim Crow laws oppressed African Americans and colonization subjugated Africans on their own continent. —

Tesfaye Negussie, ABC News, 24 Dec. 2024 President Joe Biden recently announced the establishment of a new national monument acknowledging the history of the residential school system, which oppressed thousands of Indigenous children and their families during the course of more than 150 years. —

Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 12 Dec. 2024 There’s just not a lot of empathy for a group that historically has had advantages and are naturally more likely and prone to be oppressors than the oppressed. —

Sean Illing, Vox, 16 Dec. 2024 After suffering a fierce crackdown by Chinese security forces long accused by the West of oppressing the country's Uyghur minority, a number of Turkestan Islamic Party rebels joined jihadis battling the Syrian government in a civil war that first erupted in 2011. —

Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for oppress

Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppress

Verb

All of his numbers are depressed compared to other Oilers due to very little time with McDavid and Draisaitl.

— Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
This has depressed the value of the renminbi, particularly in less regulated trading outside of mainland China.

— Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025