REPRESSIVE Synonyms: 19 Similar and Opposite Words

repressive

adjective

as in unemotional

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of repressive The first five-plus hours of Julia Loktev’s documentary epic, about young journalists trying to do their jobs in an increasingly repressive Russia, was one of the great nonfiction achievements of recent years. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 Throughout the civil war, Assad granted countries that supported his repressive regime access to Syrian territory and economic assets. — Jesse Marks, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026 Experts have cautioned that Iran’s repressive regime is unlikely to be swayed by the suffering of ordinary citizens and is prepared to wait out economic hardship longer than Americans can endure high gas prices. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026 Avila was born in Hialeah to exiles who left Castro’s repressive regime in Cuba — a biography certain to resonate in South Florida. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026 The correspondence reveals Iranian authorities influencing deportation lists, last-minute passenger changes and at least one mistaken removal, raising alarms about asylum seekers, due process and returns to a repressive regime. — Safiyah Riddle, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Following the campaign, Rome aggressively eradicated and restructured local settlements, while instituting repressive laws designed to assimilate the area into the greater empire. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 July 2026 Her Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the head of the state’s repressive apparatus, receives American military officers in Caracas even as Washington maintains a $25 million bounty on his head. — Rafael Osío Cabrices, Time, 20 July 2026 To decide what to fund, staffers with deep expertise typically pored over reams of information on abuses under the most repressive regimes and held an open competition to fund groups to work in those countries. — Anna Maria Barry-Jester, ProPublica, 17 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for repressive

Adjective

Pragmatic and unemotional, Jung views every situation as a problem to be resolved.

— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026
However, any moments that would be guaranteed to be grim end up being almost benign, as dead bodies are intact, have strangely unemotional, open-eyed faces, and almost seem like mannequins buried under mud and sand.

— Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of unemotional

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repression

repressive

reprieve

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“Repressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repressive. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of repressive

adjective

Example Sentences

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