as in unemotional
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Recent Examples of repressive
From 1939 to 1975, the Franco dictatorship placed Spain in the grip of repressive leadership that, among other abuses of power, exerted strict censorship over the country’s cinema.
—
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2026
The transformation has been legal, administrative, and institutional rather than overtly repressive.
—Alejandro Reyes, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
Their crime was raising their voices against a repressive government that relied on brute force and surveillance of its citizens for its survival, a regime whose authority rested on force and fear.
—Binaifer Nowrojee, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
In repressive regimes, citizen-shot video frequently challenges ruling powers’ narratives.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 29 Jan. 2026
The randomness is the difference between a regime based on terror and a regime that is plainly repressive.
—M. Gessen, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
As decades of repressive segregationist rule wore on, South Africa’s statist economy offered fewer opportunities to its white citizens.
—Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026
The Iranian government—one of the most repressive regimes in the world—has long relied on accusations of collaboration with hostile foreign powers, usually the United States or Israel, to silence journalists, activists, and dissidents.
—Omid Memarian, The Atlantic, 25 Jan. 2026
Trump also sent them out to repressive states including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2026
The transformation has been legal, administrative, and institutional rather than overtly repressive.
—Alejandro Reyes, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
Their crime was raising their voices against a repressive government that relied on brute force and surveillance of its citizens for its survival, a regime whose authority rested on force and fear.
—Binaifer Nowrojee, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
In repressive regimes, citizen-shot video frequently challenges ruling powers’ narratives.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 29 Jan. 2026
The randomness is the difference between a regime based on terror and a regime that is plainly repressive.
—M. Gessen, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026
As decades of repressive segregationist rule wore on, South Africa’s statist economy offered fewer opportunities to its white citizens.
—Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026
The Iranian government—one of the most repressive regimes in the world—has long relied on accusations of collaboration with hostile foreign powers, usually the United States or Israel, to silence journalists, activists, and dissidents.
—Omid Memarian, The Atlantic, 25 Jan. 2026
Trump also sent them out to repressive states including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for repressive
Adjective
-
That’s the image projected by Chicago’s pragmatic, unemotional manager, Craig Counsell, who continues to get lustily booed in his hometown.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
He is learned, frail, accomplished, absent, selfish and unemotional.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Do the Raptors, who entered Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with a 30-22 record but an unimpressive point differential and facing as difficult a remaining schedule as any team in the Eastern Conference, seem close enough to actual contention to justify that sort of move?—
Eric Koreen,
New York Times,
5 Feb. 2026
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There is a lot of ground not covered here, but the long and short of it is, this cat-and-mouse thriller is too predictable and its two main leads are a rather lousy detective and an equally unimpressive killer.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Repressive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/repressive. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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