Dictators commonly oppress their citizens and repress dissent, but these words don’t mean exactly the same thing. “Repress” just means “keep under control.” Sometimes repression is a good thing: “During the job interview, repress the temptation to tell Mr. Brown that he has toilet paper stuck to his shoe.” Oppression is always bad, and implies serious persecution.
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On the podcast this week, we continue our discussion of words related to government and politics, including “dictator,” “state capitalism,”“monarchy,” “oligarchy,” “plutocracy,”
and “empire.”
Book sale! Through the end of the year, buy the Common Errors in English Usage book now for $15 with free shipping in the US.
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