oppress
verb
[ əˈprɛs ]
• keep (someone) in subjection and hardship, especially by the unjust exercise of authority.
• "a system which oppressed working people"
Similar:
persecute,
abuse,
maltreat,
ill-treat,
treat harshly,
be brutal to,
be cruel to,
tyrannize,
crush,
repress,
suppress,
subjugate,
hegemonize,
subdue,
subject,
enslave,
scourge,
exploit,
hold down,
keep down,
grind down,
rule with a rod of iron,
rule with an iron hand,
trample on,
trample underfoot,
bring someone to their knees,
ride roughshod over,
walk all over,
persecuted,
downtrodden,
abused,
maltreated,
ill-treated,
tyrannized,
subjugated,
repressed,
subdued,
crushed,
enslaved,
exploited,
victimized,
misused,
disadvantaged,
underprivileged,
ground down,
browbeaten,
• another term for debruise.
Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French oppresser, from medieval Latin oppressare, from Latin oppress- ‘pressed against’, from the verb opprimere .
