oppression
NounUS[uh-presh-uhn]/əˈprɛʃən/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (3)
- the act of subjugating by cruelty“the tyrant's oppression of the people”Synonyms: subjugationType of persecution
- the state of being kept down by unjust use of force or authority:Type of subjugation, subjectionKinds yoke
- a feeling of being oppressedSynonyms: oppressivenessType of depressionKinds weight
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perniciousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Op·pres′sion noun
Origin: F., fr. L. oppressio.
1. The act of oppressing, or state of being oppressed.
2. That which oppresses; a hardship or injustice; cruelty; severity; tyranny. “The multitude of oppressions.” Job xxxv. 9.
3. A sense of heaviness or obstruction in the body or mind; depression; dullness; lassitude; as, an oppression of spirits; an oppression of the lungs.
There gentle Sleep First found me, and with soft oppression seized My drowsed sense.— John Milton
4. Ravishment; rape. obsolete Geoffrey Chaucer
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54