Oppressed

[uh-pres] /əˈprɛs/

verb (used with object)
1.
to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power:
a people oppressed by totalitarianism.
2.
to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.):
Care and sorrow oppressed them.
3.
to weigh down, as sleep or weariness does.
4.
Archaic. to put down; subdue or suppress.
5.
Archaic. to press upon or against; crush.
/əˈprɛs/
verb (transitive)
1.
to subjugate by cruelty, force, etc
2.
to afflict or torment
3.
to lie heavy on (the mind, imagination, etc)
4.
an obsolete word for overwhelm
adj.

late 14c., past participle adjective from oppress.
v.

mid-14c., from Old French opresser “oppress, afflict; torment, smother” (13c.), from Medieval Latin oppressare, frequentative of Latin opprimere “press against, press together, press down;” figuratively “crush, put down, subdue, prosecute relentlessly” (in Late Latin “to rape”), from ob “against” (see ob-) + premere “to press, push” (see press (v.1)).

It is the due [external] restraint and not the moderation of rulers that constitutes a state of liberty; as the power to oppress, though never exercised, does a state of slavery. [St. George Tucker, “View of the Constitution of the United States,” 1803]

Related: Oppressed; oppressing.

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Oppressing
[uh-pres] /əˈprɛs/ verb (used with object) 1. to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power: a people oppressed by totalitarianism. 2. to lie heavily upon (the mind, a person, etc.): Care and sorrow oppressed them. 3. to weigh down, as sleep or weariness […]
Oppression
[uh-presh-uh n] /əˈprɛʃ ən/ noun 1. the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. 2. an act or instance of or subjecting to cruel or unjust impositions or restraints. 3. the state of being . 4. the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, […]
Oppressive
[uh-pres-iv] /əˈprɛs ɪv/ adjective 1. burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical: an oppressive king; oppressive laws. 2. causing discomfort by being excessive, intense, elaborate, etc.: oppressive heat. 3. distressing or grievous: oppressive sorrows. /əˈprɛsɪv/ adjective 1. cruel, harsh, or tyrannical 2. heavy, constricting, or depressing adj. 1640s, from Medieval Latin oppressivus, from oppress-, past participle stem […]

Oppressively
[uh-pres-iv] /əˈprɛs ɪv/ adjective 1. burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical: an oppressive king; oppressive laws. 2. causing discomfort by being excessive, intense, elaborate, etc.: oppressive heat. 3. distressing or grievous: oppressive sorrows. /əˈprɛsɪv/ adjective 1. cruel, harsh, or tyrannical 2. heavy, constricting, or depressing adj. 1640s, from Medieval Latin oppressivus, from oppress-, past participle stem […]
Oppressiveness
[uh-pres-iv] /əˈprɛs ɪv/ adjective 1. burdensome, unjustly harsh, or tyrannical: an oppressive king; oppressive laws. 2. causing discomfort by being excessive, intense, elaborate, etc.: oppressive heat. 3. distressing or grievous: oppressive sorrows. /əˈprɛsɪv/ adjective 1. cruel, harsh, or tyrannical 2. heavy, constricting, or depressing adj. 1640s, from Medieval Latin oppressivus, from oppress-, past participle stem […]