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. [ 1913 Webster ]

For thee, oppressèd king, am I cast down. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Behold the kings of the earth; how they oppress
Thy chosen! Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To ravish; to violate. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To put down; to crush out; to suppress. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The mutiny he there hastes to oppress. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. having excessive or unfair burdens imposed.
Syn. -- downtrodden, persecuted. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ F., fr. L. oppressio. ] 1. The act of oppressing, or state of being oppressed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which oppresses; a hardship or injustice; cruelty; severity; tyranny. “The multitude of oppressions.” Job xxxv. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A sense of heaviness or obstruction in the body or mind; depression; dullness; lassitude; as, an oppression of spirits; an oppression of the lungs. [ 1913 Webster ]

There gentle Sleep
First found me, and with soft oppression seized
My drowsed sense. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Ravishment; rape. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. oppressif. ] 1. Unreasonably burdensome; unjustly severe, rigorous, or harsh; as, oppressive taxes; oppressive exactions of service; an oppressive game law. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Using oppression; tyrannical; as, oppressive authority or commands. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Heavy; overpowering; hard to be borne; creating a sense of heavy burden; as, oppressive grief or woe; oppressive heat or humidity; an oppressive workload. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

To ease the soul of one oppressive weight. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Op*press"ive*ly, adv. -- Op*press"ive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] One who oppresses; one who imposes unjust burdens on others; one who harasses others with unjust laws or unreasonable severity. [ 1913 Webster ]

The orphan pines while the oppressor feeds. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To relieve the oppressed and to punish the oppressor. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Oppression. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]