oppression

English

Etymology

From Middle English oppression, from Old French oppression, from Latin oppressio (“a pressing down, violence, oppression”), from opprimere, past participle oppressus (“to press down”); see oppress.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

oppression (countable and uncountable; plural oppressions)

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.

   The oppression of the poor by the aristocracy was one cause of the French Revolution.

3. A feeling of being oppressed.

   Our oppression was lifted by the reappearance of the sun.

Related terms

• oppress

Translations

act of oppressing, or the state of being oppressed

Arabic: ظلم (ar) (Zulm) m. Armenian: հալածանք (hy) (halaçank’) Catalan: opressió (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 壓迫 (zh), 压迫 (zh) (yāpò) Czech: útlak (cs) m. Danish: undertrykkelse (da) c. Dutch: onderdrukking (nl) f. French: oppression (fr) f.

German: Unterdrückung (de) f. Italian: oppressione (it) Japanese: 圧迫 (ja) (appaku), 圧制 (ja) (assei) Kurdish: چه‌وساندنه‌وه (ku) (çewsandinewe), زۆرداری (ku) (zordari) Portuguese: opressão (pt) Russian: гнёт (ru) (gnjot) m., угнетение (ru) (ugneténije) n., притеснение (ru) (pritesnénije) n. Spanish: opresión (es) f. Swedish: förtryck (sv)

feeling of being oppressed

Dutch: bedruktheid (nl) f.

Kurdish: زۆرداری (ku) (zordari)

exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner

Dutch: onderdrukking (nl) f. German: Unterdrückung (de) f.

Kurdish: زۆرداری (ku) (zordari)

External links

• oppression in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• oppression in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911