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oppress

opp·ress

UK/əˈpɹɛs/ US/ʌˈprɛs/ uncommon obsolete

verb

1.

come down on or keep down by unjust use of one''s authority

  • “The government oppresses political activists”
Synonyms
2.

cause to suffer

  • “Jews were persecuted in the former Soviet Union”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English oppressen, from Old French oppresser, from Medieval Latin oppressare (“to press against, oppress”), frequentative of Latin opprimere, past participle oppressus (“to press against, press together, oppress”), from ob (“against”) + premere, past participle pressus (“to press”); see press.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.