oppressed
Americanadjective
-
burdened with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subjected to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power.
He's spent over three years documenting the lives of poor, exploited, and oppressed peoples in Latin America.
-
weighed down by thoughts or feelings that lie heavily on the mind or spirit.
The fix for a hurt heart, broken spirit, or oppressed mind is not always easy, but there is a path to recovery.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- unoppressed adjective
Etymology
Origin of oppressed
First recorded in 1350–1400; oppress ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to 1996 reporting by The Times, “Siembra” delivered pulsating salsa rhythms that “carried messages of freedom at a time when most of Latin America was oppressed by military dictatorships.”
From Los Angeles Times
The Kurds remain an oppressed people, but one that will fight for freedom for themselves and protection for others.
“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online.
From Los Angeles Times
“We are the grandchildren of the protesters. We are the grandchildren of the oppressed,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Harbored at different times by Yemen, Syria, East Germany and communist Hungary, this self-appointed tribune of the oppressed was finally captured in Sudan in 1994, then convicted in France of multiple murders.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
