Words / C1

uh-PRESHUN/əˈpreʃn/

Oppression is prolonged cruel or unjust control of a people or group: political oppression, racial oppression. Cruelty is a quality; repression can be political clamping-down; a strict rule is not automatically oppression. Do not use oppression for a published exam rubric you dislike.

Meaning

Cruel or unfair control of people over a long period.

Examples

• “Oppression is a human-rights claim, not a synonym for a strict rubric.”
• “Cruel is the everyday adjective. Control is wider and can be legitimate. Repression is a political cousin. A tight deadline is inconvenience. Reserve the word for systematic unjust power, then evidence it.”

Good to know

Sustained unjust control. Everyday: cruelty / control. Cousin: repression. A strict rubric is not oppression.

Near in meaning

cruel

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