coerce

verb

co·​erce kō-ˈərs How to pronounce coerce (audio)
coerced; coercing

transitive verb

1
: to compel to an act or choice
was coerced into agreeing
abusers who coerce their victims into silence
2
: to achieve by force or threat
coerce compliance
coerce obedience
3
: to restrain or dominate by force
religion in the past has tried to coerce the irreligiousW. R. Inge
coercible adjective
Choose the Right Synonym for coerce

force, compel, coerce, constrain, oblige mean to make someone or something yield.

force is the general term and implies the overcoming of resistance by the exertion of strength, power, or duress.

forced to flee for their lives

compel typically suggests overcoming of resistance or unwillingness by an irresistible force.

compelled to admit my mistake

coerce suggests overcoming resistance or unwillingness by actual or threatened violence or pressure.

coerced into signing over the rights

constrain suggests the effect of a force or circumstance that limits freedom of action or choice.

constrained by conscience

oblige implies the constraint of necessity, law, or duty.

felt obliged to go

Examples of coerce in a Sentence

A confession was coerced from the suspect by police. was coerced into signing the document
Recent Examples on the Web Employees report that Russian occupiers coerced them into adopting Russian citizenship and signing contracts with Rosatom. Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2024 The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Monday accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staffers, coercing them into making false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 The other suspect, according to the Krasner’s office, made threats to coerce the witnesses not to testify against him in Gwynn’s trial. Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Jackson served more than thirty-nine years of a murder sentence, with two and a half years on death row, because of the testimony of a thirteen-year-old boy whom the police had coerced. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Manipulative deepfake tactics can be used to coerce someone into a fraudulent transfer of a substantial amount of money. Siddharth Sharma, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 At the preliminary hearing, Levi’s lawyer, Elliot Silver, argued prosecutors failed to prove that human trafficking, which requires that the victim be forced or coerced into prostitution, had occurred. Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2024 To him, government coercing people to serve in the military was unjust on its face. Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coerce.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English coarcen, coercen, borrowed from Anglo-French *cohercer, borrowed (with conjugation change) from Latin coercēre "to confine, shut up, restrict, restrain," from co- co- + arcēre "to hold in, prevent from approaching, keep away" — more at ark

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of coerce was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near coerce

Cite this Entry

“Coerce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coerce. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coerce

verb
co·​erce kō-ˈərs How to pronounce coerce (audio)
coerced; coercing
: to cause someone to do something by force or threat
coercion
-ˈər-zhən
-shən
noun
coercive
-ˈər-siv
adjective

Legal Definition

coerce

transitive verb
co·​erce kō-ˈərs How to pronounce coerce (audio)
coerced; coercing
: to subject (a person) to coercion compare importune, solicit

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