Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Difficult to bear; burdensome: oppressive laws.
- adj. Exercising power arbitrarily and often unjustly; tyrannical.
- adj. Weighing heavily on the senses or spirit: oppressive weather. See Synonyms at burdensome.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Unreasonably burdensome; unjustly severe: as, oppressive taxes; oppressive exactions of service.
- Given or inclined to oppression; tyrannical: as, an oppressive government.
- Heavy; overpowering; overwhelming; burdensome; causing discomfort or uneasiness: as, oppressive grief or woe.
Wiktionary
- adj. Burdensome or difficult to bear.
- adj. Tyrannical or exercising unjust power.
- adj. Weighing heavily on the spirit; intense, or overwhelming
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Unreasonably burdensome; unjustly severe, rigorous, or harsh
- adj. Using oppression; tyrannical.
- adj. Heavy; overpowering; hard to be borne; creating a sense of heavy burden.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
- adj. marked by unjust severity or arbitrary behavior
Examples
“In 1939, Manipuri women launched what was called Nupi Lan, or the women's war, against the maharaja that ruled the kingdom over what they called his oppressive policies.”
“The feminists rejoiced because all the cash went to women, thereby deconstructing what they called the oppressive patriarchy, and the liberals rejoiced because these handouts required more bureaucrats and higher taxes.”
“The key to keeping that form becoming unnecessarily oppressive is to put a hold on institutional punishments like this one.”
“Link via Neha, who also says this: I think it's crucial to remember that this just isn't about living in oppressive regimes.”
“What some perceive as oppressive is perceived as liberating for many second-generation American Muslim women, as they blend their parents 'religion with their place in the "new country" and American society.”
“Proxies like Privoxy, FoxyProxy, Tor and Vidalia can be used by anybody, but most notably by web browsers in oppressive countries to disguise their identity and location.”
“What's further oppressive is in denying that, as things stand currently, whether we like it or not, the people who are generally tasked with the charge of these marginally controllable human beings are largely female.”
Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: Comparitive Oppression
“After an exhausting drill in oppressive heat, Mia Hamm jogged off the field.”
“He even contended that Orwell was wrong and that technology, far from being oppressive, is actually liberating.”
“He has called on young Muslims to enlist and fight what he called the oppressive powers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘oppressive’.
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 318 more...
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I am : oppressive
Words that are oppressive. Describing anger, violence, aggression (overt and covert), opposition, tension. strong stance and lack of harmony.
Still working on exact definition...angry, enraged, furious, mad, obstreperous, violent, aggressive, truculent, obdurate, obstinate, defiant, hostile and 33 more...
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Harmful
quick, hurtful, ruinous, noxious, destructive, deadly, mischievous, deleterious, baneful, injurious, baleful, malicious and 24 more...
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Tunie: Word Disassociation
(I'm fairly sure that I'm subverting the whole concept of the Tunie by listing this song. Subversion! Yes! HA HA HA HA! Mine is an evil laugh!!!)
Word Disassociation
antidisestablishm..., quickly, ruby, bionic, about, crouch, a cappella, imposter, flames, distraction, murderous, over and 181 more...
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fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
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Naresh_Gre
The path meanders through the vineyards
meander, labyrinth, Sinuous, gyrate, caron, awry, credo, banter, juxtaposition, argot, inexorable, foibles and 223 more...
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oneasterism's words
Words that I like, that I don't use often enough, that are new to me, that friends and family have taught me, and so on.
lugubrious, reticent, eschelon, missive, penchant, copious, conspicuous, tranquil, redolent, asinine, inane, dilatory and 625 more...
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GRE uncommon
patronage, expletive, exhort, exegesis, execrable, excommunicate, evince, escarpment, ersatz, ergo, epoxy, snare and 1202 more...
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Dismantling Modernism
unequivocal, realism, positivism, handmaiden, naturalize, repository, reify, indeterminate, instrumentality, attest, omniscience, counter revolution and 36 more...
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ThunderCats Word List
List of vocabulary words from ThunderCats
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WList-1
abrogate, annul, abscess, abrade, abjure, aborigine, transcendence, indefatigable, Lear, oppressive
Tweets
Looking for tweets for oppressive.
gtss "The silence is so oppressive"
-Tygra, "SNARF TAKES UP THE CHALLENGE" Mar 12, 2008