Verb
To impose excessive burdens upon; to overload; hence, to treat with unjust rigor or with cruelty.
To ravish; to violate.
To put down; to crush out; to suppress.
To produce a sensation of weight in (some part of the body); as, my lungs are oppressed by the damp air; excess of food oppresses the stomach.
Source: Webster's dictionaryNo generous mind delights to oppress the weak, but rather to cherish and protect. Anne Brontë
Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many. Alexander Hamilton
To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi
Paper money has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice. George Washington
Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people--they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress. Paulo Freire
It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power - power to oppress others. Eric Hoffer