oppress
verb/əˈpres/
/əˈpres/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they oppress | /əˈpres/ /əˈpres/ |
| he / she / it oppresses | /əˈpresɪz/ /əˈpresɪz/ |
| past simple oppressed | /əˈprest/ /əˈprest/ |
| past participle oppressed | /əˈprest/ /əˈprest/ |
| -ing form oppressing | /əˈpresɪŋ/ /əˈpresɪŋ/ |
- oppress somebody to treat somebody in a cruel and unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedom, rights, etc. as other people
- The regime is accused of oppressing religious minorities.
- Throughout history, our people have been oppressed and exploited.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- oppress somebody to make somebody only able to think about things that make them sad or worried synonym weigh down
- The gloomy atmosphere in the office oppressed her.
- He was beginning to feel oppressed by his surroundings.
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French oppresser, from medieval Latin oppressare, from Latin oppress- ‘pressed against’, from the verb opprimere.
Check pronunciation:
oppress