Meaning & use
oppressive
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Using power over people in a cruel, unfair way that limits their freedom.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: an oppressive regime, the law was oppressive.
Patterns
- oppressive to someone
The oppressive government banned public meetings.
Workers described the factory rules as oppressive.
Many fled the oppressive regime in search of freedom.
adjectivecomparable
Of weather or atmosphere, heavy, hot and hard to bear.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: oppressive heat, the air felt oppressive.
The oppressive heat made everyone slow and irritable.
An oppressive silence settled over the room.
Dark clouds gave the afternoon an oppressive feeling.
Word forms
| comparative | more oppressive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most oppressive |
Common combinations
- oppressive regime
- The oppressive regime silenced its critics.
- oppressive heat
- We hid indoors from the oppressive heat.
- oppressive silence
- An oppressive silence followed the announcement.
- oppressive laws
- Activists challenged the oppressive laws.
- feel oppressive
- The small room began to feel oppressive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tyrannical
- Tyrannical describes a ruler or system with absolute, cruel power, while oppressive can be milder and cover any heavy burden.
- harsh
- Harsh means severe but not always unfair or controlling, whereas oppressive implies unjust weight on people.
- stifling
- Stifling stresses lack of air or freedom to breathe, so it is common for rooms and atmospheres, while oppressive also describes political power.
- muggy
- Muggy is an informal word only for damp, warm weather, while oppressive can describe heat of any kind or moods.
Opposites
Word family
- oppress verb
- to treat people in a cruel, unfair way
- oppression noun
- unfair and cruel control of people
- oppressor noun
- a person or group that oppresses others
- oppressively adverb
- in a heavy or unjust way
Commonly confused: oppressive or repressive?
oppressive vs repressive
Repressive means holding back freedom or feelings by force; oppressive emphasizes the burden of unjust power or heaviness.
Practice
The ___ heat made the long bus ride miserable.
Choose one answer.
Oppressive heat is heavy and hard to bear. Expressive, impressive and progressive are real words but do not describe unpleasant weather.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “oppressive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.