HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
Back to search

Oppression

Noun CEFR B2
əˈpɹɛʃən

Definitions

  1. The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.
  2. The act of oppressing, or the state of being oppressed.
  3. A feeling of being oppressed.

Equivalents

40 more languages

Examples

“Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions, imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings […] pulled the vengeance of God upon themselves […]”
“"Tibet challenges the conscience of the world," I told the audience at a gathering outside the town's main temple. "If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world."”
Extreme freedom is followed by extreme oppression, said Plato.”
We're choosing to use "anti-Jewishness" [rather than "anti-Semitism"] in recognition of the separate experiences and different oppressions of other peoples who also claim the name of "Semite."”
Our oppression was lifted by the reappearance of the sun.”
“[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

Learn this word in context

See Oppression used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course

Know this word better than we do? Language is a living thing — help us keep it growing. Collaborate with Babel Free