What does oppression mean?
Word: Oppression
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Oppression means harsh and unfair treatment of people by those who have power over them.
Synonyms: tyranny, injustice
Antonyms: liberty, justice
How do you spell oppression?
Syllables: op - pres - sion
Tricky part: It opens with a double p, as opponent does: students write opression with one p.
Watch out for: opression, oppressoin, oppresshun
Memory tip: Say 'op-PRESH-un' and tap the desk twice for the two p's at the start.
Oppression in a sentence
Example 1: The people of the island struggled peacefully for years against oppression.
Example 2: History books describe the oppression of farmers who had to pay unfair taxes.
Example 3: The story is about a young girl who stands up to oppression in her village.
Fun Fact
Mohandas Gandhi began his first campaign of peaceful protest in South Africa in 1906, against unfair laws for Indians.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. justice 2. oppression 3. equality 4. harmoney
a) fair treatment for all
b) a state of living together peacefully
c) harsh rule that keeps people down
d) having the same rights as others
Show answer
b) a state of living together peacefully. Harmoney has an e that does not belong before its y; the other three are spelt correctly.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Many old folk songs from the hills tell of villagers who spoke up bravely against oppresion by greedy landlords.
a) landlords
b) bravely
c) villagers
d) oppresion
Show answer
d) oppresion. Press keeps its double s inside this word; oppresion has only one.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word oppression as used in the sentence:
The new laws ended years of oppression for the island's fishing families.
a) silence
b) poverty
c) labour
d) freedom
Show answer
d) freedom. Freedom is what the families gained, the very thing oppression takes away.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
History lessons show how people in many lands stood up to sinoppsreo.
a) possession
b) profession
c) procession
d) oppression
Show answer
d) oppression. Possession has no r, procession needs a c and profession an f; the jumble has an r but no c or f.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A clear example of oppression is ____.
a) a teacher setting weekly homework
b) a ruler banning people from speaking freely
c) a shop closing early on Sunday
d) a team losing a cricket match
Show answer
b) a ruler banning people from speaking freely
2. People living under oppression most want ____.
a) to be treated fairly
b) to work longer hours
c) to pay more taxes
d) to have fewer rights
Show answer
a) to be treated fairly
