How to Use oppressive in a Sentence

oppressive

adjective
  • The country is ruled by an oppressive regime.
  • I think these laws are oppressive.
  • This region suffers from oppressive heat in the summer months.
  • The situation was extremely tense; no one said a word, and the silence was oppressive.
  • But, just like the oppressive smoke, other things hang in the air.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
  • There are also oppressive, racist groups that seem to be linked to overuse of psychedelics.
    — Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone, 7 Jan. 2022
  • Eager to be free of the house with its oppressive low ceilings.
    — Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • The best time to visit most of these parks is in the spring and fall, when the heat is not as oppressive.
    — Derek Catron, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2020
  • The oppressive noon heat stifled my brain while sweat streamed from my temples.
    — Alexis Landau, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
  • The weight of this game on the Dolphins was oppressive, heavy as hot anvils.
    — Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
  • North Korea is the most hellish, least free, most oppressive place on earth.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 20 Oct. 2020
  • Their rich odor was almost oppressive.
    — Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
  • What was once an oppressive series of rooms is now a bustling hub for family life.
    — Camille Okhio, ELLE Decor, 3 Aug. 2023
  • This is when the weather is warm enough to be enjoyable but not yet oppressive.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2023
  • The oppressive heat made finding them that much harder.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
  • These men detailed the oppressive regime back home; the lack of food, cars, stores, jobs, choices.
    — Greg Bishop, SI.com, 30 July 2019
  • But what is a heat dome, and why does the phenomenon bring oppressive heat with it?
    — Denise Chow, NBC news, 26 June 2025
  • In the shadows of an oppressive regime, silence can be a language of love.
    — Yangyang Cheng, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2021
  • Deputies, Forestal said, don't have to wear masks at times when the heat is oppressive in the jail.
    — Vic Ryckaert, The Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2020
  • The United States has coped with oppressive heat the past few weeks.
    — Monica Garrett, CNN, 4 Aug. 2022
  • Heavy rain and oppressive heat are in store for the Greater Cincinnati area this week.
    — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, 14 July 2019
  • The oppressive heat could back off, a bit, starting on Monday.
    — Leigh Morgan, al, 1 Aug. 2021
  • These efforts may not spell the end of Iran’s odious, oppressive regime.
    — Dennis Ross, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The rain will provide a little relief from the oppressive heat.
    — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 24 June 2026
  • The pressure and pitch-blackness no longer felt foreign or oppressive.
    — Ayana Underwood, Outside, 20 Sep. 2025
  • The second day of the heat wave apparently will be as oppressive as the first.
    — Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2020
  • There is a powerful figure, and the curtains are an oppressive wall of musty damask.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 June 2024
  • In this cast, the oppressive force is obviously the horde of ghosts running around the manor.
    — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 1 Sep. 2020
  • But millions of Afghans fear the group will return to its brutal and oppressive past.
    — Zahra Nader, Time, 20 Aug. 2021
  • Hala has timed our visit for late afternoon, when the heat isn't so oppressive and the crowds have thinned.
    — Rebecca Misner, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oppressive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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