1. the act of treating people in a cruel or unfair way, especially by not giving them the same freedoms and rights as other people
2. a feeling of being heavily weighed down in body or mind

Examples

• The civil rights movement fought against racial oppression.
• Many people fled their country to escape political oppression.
• The oppression of women was common in that society.
• He felt an oppression in his chest when he heard the bad news.
• The hot, humid weather created a sense of oppression.
• Historical oppression has lasting effects on communities.
• She wrote about the oppression faced by workers in factories.