oppressive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“One of the interesting things about L.A. was, when I moved there, I couldn’t really blame the city anymore because I wasn’t in an oppressive place,” he remembers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

We can and should hope for a better outcome for Iranians than for Iraqis: freedom from an oppressive regime, minimal death and destruction, a smooth democratic transition, a functional democracy, a peaceful and prosperous society.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

In the build up to the 1966 coup, Nkrumah had faced criticism that he was becoming increasingly oppressive.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

And the dominant instinct in India is to tinker with onerous rules to make them somewhat less oppressive rather than attempt a sweeping overhaul.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

But it was a pretty sad story, about one family’s struggle against the oppressive Japanese regime.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh