oppress
op·press/əˈpɹɛs/verb
oppress is spelled O-P-P-R-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (op·press). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, oppress means “To keep down by unjust force” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in oppress?
| Letters | 7: O-P-P-R-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: op·press |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is oppress?
Oppress appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce oppress?
- /əˈpɹɛs/
Oppress has 2 syllables, split op·press in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-oppress.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of oppress
- oppresses present, singular, he/she/it
- oppressing participle, present
- oppressed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does oppress mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To keep down by unjust force.
The rural poor were oppressed by the land-owners.
- 2
To make sad or gloomy.
We were oppressed by the constant grey skies.
- 3
obsoletePhysically to press down on (someone) with harmful effects; to smother, crush.
- 4
obsoleteTo sexually violate; to rape.
noun
- 1
obsoleteOppression.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Oppress in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | opprimer , oppresser |
| German | unterdrücken |
| Portuguese | oprimir |
| Spanish | oprimir, conculcar, opresar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does oppress come from?
From Middle English oppressen, from Old French oppresser, from Medieval Latin oppressare (“to press against, oppress”), frequentative of Latin opprimere, past participle oppressus (“to press against, press together, oppress”), from ob (“against”) + premere, past participle pressus (“to press”); see press.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).