All 5 Uses of
oppress
in
1984 by Orwell
- Before the Revolution they had been hideously oppressed by the capitalists, they had been starved and flogged, women had been forced to work in the coal mines (women still did work in the coal mines, as a matter of fact), children had been sold into the factories at the age of six.
p. 70..9 (definition 1)oppressed = treated harshly and unfairly
- There was the most terrible oppression, injustice, poverty worse than anything we can imagine.
p. 89..8 (definition 1) *oppression = harsh and unfair treatment
- The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed.
p. 207..5 (definition 1)oppressed = treated harshly and unfairly
- Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even become aware that they are oppressed.
p. 207..6 (definition 1)
- What most oppressed him was the consciousness of his own intellectual inferiority.
p. 256..1 (definition 2) *oppressed = weighed heavily on the senses or spirit
Definitions:
-
(1) (oppress as in: oppressive government) to dominate harshly and unfairly; or to make sufferThe meaning of oppress depends upon its context. For example:
- "The authorities oppress political activists," or "The new nation oppressed Native Americans." -- to dominate harshly and unfairly
- "She is oppressed by excessive debt." - made to suffer
-
(2) (oppress as in: oppressive heat) to make uncomfortable (weigh heavily on the senses or spirit)