oppressor

noun

Definition of oppressornext
as in tyrant
a person who uses power or authority in a cruel, unjust, or harmful way the dictatorship had scarcely been overthrown when the formerly oppressed suddenly abandoned their democratic ideals and became the oppressors

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of oppressor During this icy inspection, Hurston decided to inflict as much discomfort as possible on her oppressors by remaining in the office as a form of passive resistance. — Literary Hub, 22 July 2026 But in the museum's current telling, history is just an ongoing power struggle between oppressors and the oppressed. — Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 21 July 2026 The practice likely had its roots in mid-20th century productions and crystallized over the decades, though American accents have often been used in film history to differentiate the oppressed from the oppressor. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026 Your structure sorts the whole world into two boxes, oppressor and oppressed. — Joyce Kamanitz, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026 An America where justice brings down oppressors and lifts up the ordinary. — Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026 What if ensuring your own existence meant repeatedly traveling back to an era where your ancestors were enslaved, forcing you to rescue them from their horrifying oppressor? — Janey Wetzel, PEOPLE, 19 June 2026 And did the advocates of this collective pedagogy imagine their children rising to heights of power, only to view the darker nations of the world through the same violent lens as their oppressors? — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026 To Be Whole,' which teaches that the United States was founded on 'white supremacy' and categorizes individuals as 'oppressors' and 'oppressed' based only on their skin color, not their individual decisions and actions. — Gabriela Vidal, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressor
  1. tyrant
  2. dictator
Noun
  • Netanyahu brands Erdogan an ‘antisemitic tyrant’ Netanyahu and Katz have pushed back on the political motivation narrative, warning instead of an impending Turkish footprint in Syria.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Some tin-pot tyrant decides their country really owns part of another and invades.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of tyrant
Noun
  • For years the company has rewritten its own rules, redesigned its products, and even bent to the demands of dictators to preserve market access.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
  • President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed the Carter-Torrijos Treaties transferring control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama by 2000.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of dictator

Browse Nearby Words

oppressiveness
oppressor
oppressors
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Cite this Entry

“Oppressor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressor. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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