oppression
oppressions
Oppression is when a person or group in a position of power controls the less powerful in cruel and unfair ways. Not cool.
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Those words came from Frederick Douglass, a former slave who devoted his life to ending the oppression of black people at the hands of powerful white slaveowners. The Latin root means “pressed against,” and oppression feels like hands pressing your head, keeping you down. Oppression can be widespread throughout a culture, or felt by a single individual, like enduring the sun’s oppression on a hot summer day.
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the act of subjugating by cruelty“the tyrant's oppression of the people”
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synonyms:
subjugation
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type of:
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persecution
the act of persecuting (especially on the basis of race or religion)
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persecution
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the state of being kept down by unjust use of force or authority: "after years of oppression they finally revolted"
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types:
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yoke
an oppressive power
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type of:
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subjection, subjugation
forced submission to control by others
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yoke
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a feeling of being oppressed
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synonyms:
oppressiveness
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types:
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weight
an oppressive feeling of heavy force
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type of:
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depression
sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy
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weight
Vocabulary lists containing oppression
Lotus Bloom, a seventh-grade girl who loves the vintage style of the 1970s, learns to speak up and fight for the freedom of expression after facing a dress code violation at school.
Published ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this collection of 17 essays presents the complex array of struggles that individuals face when navigating the world in a marginalized body.
This collection of poetry reflects on more than a century's worth of American history, exploring a variety of topics including racism, the 1918 influenza pandemic, climate change, and the AIDS epidemic.
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