repressive

[ ri-pres-iv ]

adjective

1. tending or serving to repress:

   repressive laws.

Other Words From

• re·pressive·ly adverb
• re·pressive·ness noun
• nonre·pressive adjective
• unre·pressive adjective
• unre·pressive·ly adverb
• unre·pressive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of repressive¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin repressīvus < Latin repress ( us ) ( repress ) + -īvus -ive

Example Sentences

We may worry about what obstacles they’ll run into while living in such a repressive time.

From Washington Blade

In Afghanistan we kicked out the Taliban because we said, not incorrectly, that they were harboring al-Qaeda who had seriously hurt our people and were also horrible and repressive.

From Time

Since becoming president of Belarus in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has built Europe’s most repressive police state and ruthlessly used his power to stay in office as a dictator.

From MIT Technology Review

To repressive regimes — including many in the Middle East — a failure of Tunisia’s experiment will be used to remind those seeking change that democracy isn’t the panacea they think it is.

From Ozy

Their goal was to intimidate the media and prevent coverage of the civil rights movement and local officials’ repressive and often brutal responses to it.

From Washington Post

The atmosphere on campuses has gotten repressive enough that comedian Chris Rock no longer plays colleges.

From The Daily Beast

A society that was exclusive and repressive is now freer and more open.

From The Daily Beast

What future repressive policies will these killings be used to justify?

From The Daily Beast

Repressive regimes forced the people here to join parties and causes.

From The Daily Beast

By restricting aid to only registered groups, the State Department is colluding with repressive regimes, fear democracy advocates.

From The Daily Beast

Thereafter severe repressive measures were taken to curtail its power.

From Project Gutenberg

When Gage went out to enforce the repressive acts neither he nor those who sent him thought that his task would be hard.

From Project Gutenberg

Furthermore, the repressive character of the sanctions which are attached to it is sensibly less accentuated.

From Project Gutenberg

More repressive edicts were issued, with the usual result, that secret societies multiplied everywhere.

From Project Gutenberg

Advancing years failed to reconcile Punch to the non-repressive method.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• coercive
• restrictive