as in oppressed
suffering grave abuse or injustice at the hands of one in authority
a war that was supposed to liberate the downtrodden citizens of that nation
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Recent Examples of downtrodden
As for the idea mentioned by Schefter that claims teams are 'already tanking' for the rising sophomore, there are a few downtrodden franchises that would fit that mold.
—
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
Mets fans, seeking to give their downtrodden $765 million slugger an emotional lift, gave him a rousing standing ovation.
—Sam Settleman, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The new celebrity owners clearly bought into being ideal stewards of a downtrodden club, and the city of just under 45,000 embraced the unorthodox, reality-show approach to marketing the team.
—Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
In 1978, a few enterprising refugees, including Jao and his neighbor Danh Quach, set up shops along a downtrodden section of Bolsa Avenue dotted with salvage yards, repair shops and farmland.
—Jonathan Horwitz, Oc Register, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downtrodden
David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
Mets fans, seeking to give their downtrodden $765 million slugger an emotional lift, gave him a rousing standing ovation.
—Sam Settleman, New York Times, 3 May 2025
The new celebrity owners clearly bought into being ideal stewards of a downtrodden club, and the city of just under 45,000 embraced the unorthodox, reality-show approach to marketing the team.
—Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
In 1978, a few enterprising refugees, including Jao and his neighbor Danh Quach, set up shops along a downtrodden section of Bolsa Avenue dotted with salvage yards, repair shops and farmland.
—Jonathan Horwitz, Oc Register, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for downtrodden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downtrodden
oppressed
Adjective
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Kid is a member of an oppressed race who was driven to terrorism by the acts of the corporation that destroyed his home planet and vilified his race.—
Ryan Woodrow,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
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Atwood’s novel allows readers to map June’s hardship onto virtually any era in which women feel oppressed (which, horrifically, is every era in American history).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downtrodden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downtrodden. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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