Noun

The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner.

* (Sir Walter Raleigh)

Oh, by what plots, by what forswearings, betrayings, oppressions , imprisonments, tortures, poisonings, and under what reasons of state and politic subtilty, have these forenamed kings

The act of oppressing, or the state of being oppressed.

A feeling of being oppressed.

*, chapter=7

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}

Noun

(anxieties)

An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.

*{{quote-book, year=1907, author=

, title=The Dust of Conflict , chapter=4 citation , passage=The inquest on keeper Davidson was duly held, and at the commencement seemed likely to cause Tony Palliser less anxiety than he had expected.}}

* 2005 , .

But the other, because he's been immersed in arguments, gives the appearance of harbouring considerable anxiety and suspicion that he's ignorant of those matters he presents himself to others as an expert on.

An uneasy or distressing desire (for something).

I was anxious to get into the office before Henderson called from New York.

(pathology) A state of restlessness and agitation, often accompanied by a distressing sense of oppression or tightness in the stomach.