oppressive

adjective

1 an oppressive dictatorship | oppressive laws:

harsh, cruel, brutal, repressive, crushing, tyrannical, tyrannous, iron-fisted, domineering, autocratic, dictatorial, undemocratic, anti-democratic, despotic, draconian, punitive;

ruthless, relentless, merciless, pitiless, severe, inexorable;

unjust, unfair, undemocratic.

▷antonyms lenient, humane.

2 an oppressive sense of despair:

overwhelming, overpowering, hard to bear, unbearable, burdensome, unendurable, intolerable, heavy;

uncomfortable, grinding.

3 the day was grey and oppressive:

muggy, close, heavy, hot, humid, sticky, steamy, soupy, fuggy, airless, stuffy, stifling, suffocating, sultry, torrid;

British, dialect claggy.

▷antonyms fresh, airy.

oppressive Oxford Dictionary of English