arm-twisting

noun

arm-twist·​ing ˈärm-ˌtwi-stiŋ How to pronounce arm-twisting (audio)
plural arm-twistings
: the act or practice of forcing or obliging people to do things they do not want to do in order to achieve a desired end
His mastery of the Congress was celebrated … mostly because of his arm-twisting … in lining up votes.Joe Klein
Playing the violin, she reminds people, was always something she wanted to do; no parental arm-twisting was necessary.K. Robert Schwarz
arm-twist transitive verb
arm-twisted; arm-twisting; arm-twists
[Aubrey] Plaza's character could be presented as a victim of circumstance, the clichéd heist-movie character arm-twisted into one last job. Ross Douthat
arm-twister noun
plural arm-twisters
Call them the arm-twisters—the senior campaign aides and Democratic leaders who are in the forefront of courting, cajoling, and capturing the superdelegates. Kenneth T. Walsh et al.

Examples of arm-twisting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Bush administration and its successor worked hard in cooperation with Yeltsin to make that happen, using a series of inducements and diplomatic arm-twisting. Serhii Plokhy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2019 His years of gentle arm-twisting paid off in the creation of the consortium, which collected genetic data from more than 11,000 people with Alzheimer’s and a nearly equal number of older people who showed no signs of dementia. Linda Marsa, Discover Magazine, 3 Dec. 2019 But the couple will not spend time on any presidential arm-twisting. Laura Vozzella, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2023 That set the table for a Wednesday House vote, but arm-twisting for votes continued up to the final minute. Laura Litvan, Bloomberg.com, 2 June 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arm-twisting was in 1924

Dictionary Entries Near arm-twisting

Cite this Entry

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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