How to Use oppressive in a Sentence

oppressive

adjective
Definition of oppressivenext
Synonyms for oppressivenext
  • The country is ruled by an oppressive regime.
  • I think these laws are oppressive.
  • This region suffers from oppressive heat in the summer months.
  • The situation was extremely tense; no one said a word, and the silence was oppressive.
  • The United States has coped with oppressive heat the past few weeks.
    — Monica Garrett, CNN, 4 Aug. 2022
  • There are also oppressive, racist groups that seem to be linked to overuse of psychedelics.
    — Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 7 Jan. 2022
  • Eager to be free of the house with its oppressive low ceilings.
    — Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • The Tigrayans had been oppressive rulers, Menber said, and the Amhara had borne the brunt of their aggression for too long.
    — Ann Neumann, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
  • Making the movie left the duo laboring for 100 days in the oppressive heat of the Oklahoma plains.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Much of the central and southern parts of the country are in the grips of yet another oppressive heat wave.
    — Denise Chow, NBC News, 22 Aug. 2023
  • Plenty have spoken over the years about the oppressive sense of duty felt by The Royals.
    — Leila Latif, Chron, 5 Nov. 2022
  • In the shadows of an oppressive regime, silence can be a language of love.
    — Yangyang Cheng, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2021
  • Highs in the 80s are not eye-catching, but the humidity is oppressive for the next two days.
    — David Streit, Washington Post, 7 July 2022
  • Forecasts show the oppressive heat across much of the West is expected to last through at least Friday.
    — Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 7 Sep. 2022
  • This is when the weather is warm enough to be enjoyable but not yet oppressive.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2023
  • Women have since abandoned their hijabs and cut their hair in a show of protest to the Khamenei regime’s oppressive practices.
    — Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Two levels below ground at the Grant Park North Garage, the summer heat feels oppressive.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2023
  • The oppressive noon heat stifled my brain while sweat streamed from my temples.
    — Alexis Landau, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
  • Ozai is the villain of the piece, the latest in a line of oppressive and colonizing leaders of the Fire Nation.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2021
  • Hala has timed our visit for late afternoon, when the heat isn't so oppressive and the crowds have thinned.
    — Rebecca Misner, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Dec. 2021
  • Don’t bow to that voice in your head that bludgeons you with oppressive words such as must and have to that demotivate you.
    — Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 7 May 2023
  • What was once an oppressive series of rooms is now a bustling hub for family life.
    — Camille Okhio, ELLE Decor, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Its people rose up against the apartheid government in the 1950s and won a homeland, Transkei, that did not abide by the most oppressive strictures of White rule.
    — Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2022
  • Because of the oppressive midday heat, classes were held in the morning and in the late afternoon.
    — Jess McHugh, Washington Post, 25 July 2024
  • There is a powerful figure, and the curtains are an oppressive wall of musty damask.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 June 2024
  • The Cowboys have left the oppressive heat of Texas behind to train in the cool, ocean breezes of Southern California.
    — Dallas News, 25 July 2022
  • Like last week, though, the most oppressive heat and humidity largely stays to our south and west.
    — Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 20 June 2022
  • If the machinery of oppressive power is to be trained on the weak, then there is a duty to stop the gears by any means necessary.
    — Zadie Smith, The New Yorker, 5 May 2024
  • But when there is a genuine hunger to cast off the chains of oppressive regimes, as happened during the Arab Spring, the free world should offer support.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 July 2024
  • The counterargument is that even if the penalty provision is unfair or oppressive, and even if it was made at an especially exploitative moment, the Pac-12 still agreed to it.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oppressive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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