How to Use oppressive in a Sentence

oppressive

adjective
Definition of oppressivenext
Synonyms for oppressivenext
  • 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.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • There is a powerful figure, and the curtains are an oppressive wall of musty damask.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 June 2024
  • 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 humidity won’t be oppressive but does add a few degrees to the heat index.
    — A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2023
  • In the age of reliable roofing and central heat, a fifth wall of fabric might well be oppressive.
    — Elizabeth Sweet, WSJ, 20 Dec. 2022
  • At the same time, that precision can sometimes come to feel airless and oppressive.
    — Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 19 Oct. 2022
  • For McArthur, who wears a tight-fitting polyester suit and an oppressive wig, even working inside chapels can be a drag during the height of the summer.
    — Meg Bernhard, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Unlike the Kens, Andor is somewhat aware that the Empire is oppressive.
    — Michael Allen, Fortune, 30 Sep. 2023
  • The dog days of July and August, with the most oppressive weather of the year, is when small bumps and bruises can turn into larger problems.
    — Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2023
  • August will start as July finished with oppressive heat across much of the Central US.
    — Jennifer Gray, CNN, 1 Aug. 2023
  • At some point, for some people, the pain of being a part of something so oppressive becomes greater than the fear of leaving and not knowing what will happen.
    — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 10 Aug. 2023
  • The boys’ village life, though impoverished, is not shown to be oppressive.
    — Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb. 2024
  • When heat waves swept across large parts of the planet last summer, in many places the oppressive temperatures loitered for days or weeks at a time.
    — Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
  • But he's compelled to keep his obsession a secret from his oppressive dad (Fred Durst), who denounces it as a show for girls.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 19 May 2024
  • Dew points will drop from the oppressive range later this week for a more typical summer feeling.
    — Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023
  • The drama takes place in a gray city that, from a distance, seems like an oppressive monolith and, in closeup, is revealed as a crumbling wasteland.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2023
  • Heat indexes, factoring in oppressive humidity levels, climbed to around 110 — higher than just about anywhere in the United States.
    — Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 9 July 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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