Synonyms for oppressive
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Tyrannical — tyrannical or exercising unjust power
tyrannical, autocratic, overbearing, high-handed, domineering, burdensome, despotic, authoritarian, heavy, dictatorial, harsh, heavy-handed, onerous, imperious, arrogant, strict, severe, overpowering, demanding, hard, bossy, rigorous
Other
uncomfortable, overwhelming, extortionate, ponderous, grinding dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Tyrannical or exercising unjust power.
The oppressive land-owners kept a grip on the labourers.
- adj. 2
Hot and humid.
Related words
- Word family
- oppressively oppressiveness
Example sentences
- tyrannical They dreamed of overthrowing their tyrannical overlord.
- overbearing Tom can be overbearing, but he's a generous man.
- autocratic I recalled her as an energetic, autocratic personality.
- stifling Seeing the dress, she had trouble stifling a laugh.
- muggy It was too muggy for me to get to sleep last night.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| oppressive | rising | |
| tyrannical | steady | |
| overbearing | rising | |
| autocratic | steady | |
| stifling | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1
- 5 letters
- close1, heavy2, harsh1, humid2, bossy2, muggy2
- 6 letters
- severe2, strict1, sultry2, stuffy2
- 7 letters
- onerous3
- 8 letters
- grinding2, arrogant3, rigorous3, stifling2, despotic3
- 9 letters
- demanding3, imperious4, ponderous3
- 10 letters
- tyrannical4, autocratic4, burdensome3
- 11 letters
- overbearing4, dictatorial5, domineering4
- 12 letters
- overwhelming4, overpowering4, extortionate4
- 13 letters
- uncomfortable5, authoritarian6
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (heavy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- oppressant