Downtrodden

//ˈdaʊnˌtɹɒdən// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    past participle of downtread form-of, participle, past
  2. 2
    past participle of downtrod form-of, participle, past
Adjective
  1. 1
    Oppressed, persecuted or subjugated. figuratively
  2. 2
    Trodden down.

    "a patch of downtrodden soil"

Adjective
  1. 1
    abused or oppressed by people in power wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
abjectabusedafflictedbasebeatbeaten

Example

More examples

"He has always been an advocate for the poor and downtrodden."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English *dountroden, past participle of Middle English dountreden (“to tread down, trample”), equivalent to down- + trodden.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.