oppressor

Definition of oppressornext

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 Can an accurate story of a system of oppression be derived from sources created and preserved by the oppressors? — Drew Gilpin Faust, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026 For the left that supports the Palestinian cause, Muslims are the oppressed and the West – including Israel – are the oppressors… Whether Muslims hold conservative-religious views in this context is irrelevant. — Tyler Speicher, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026 But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. — William Earl, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oppressor
Noun
  • Plato warned that an unhealthy democracy can easily fall prey to a tyrant.
    — Kenneth Michael White, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the rumors, and a few of the reports at the time, paint Khrzhanovsky as a tyrant who went mad with power, like Colonel Kurtz in Heart of Darkness (or maybe Francis Ford Coppola making Apocalypse Now).
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Finchelstein, Stanley and others warn that the most dangerous moment for democracies can be when a wanna-be dictator loses momentum.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • No matter how powerful, dictators have always needed subordinates—censors, propagandists, security guards, police officers, intelligence analysts, and local bureaucrats—to carry out their orders.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Oppressor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oppressor. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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