oppress : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: oppress	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for oppress
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
oppress v come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority; "The government oppresses political activists" Synonym(s): oppress, suppress, crush cause to suffer; "Jews were persecuted in the former Soviet Union" Synonym(s): persecute, oppress
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Oppress \Oppress"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Oppressed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Oppressing}.] [F. oppresser, LL. oppressare, fr. L. oppressus, p. p. of opprimere; ob (see {Ob-}) + premere to press. See {Press}.] 1. To impose excessive burdens upon; to overload; hence, to treat with unjust rigor or with cruelty. --Wyclif. For thee, oppress[8a]d king, am I cast down. --Shak. Behold the kings of the earth; how they oppress* Thy chosen ! --Milton. 2. To ravish; to violate. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 3. To put down; to crush out; to suppress. [Obs.] The mutiny he there hastes to oppress. --Shak. 4. To produce a sensation of weight in (some part of the body); as, my lungs are oppressed by the damp air; excess of food oppresses the stomach.