Definition of coercion
: the act, process, or power of coercing They used coercion to obtain the confession.
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Examples of coercion in a Sentence
a promise obtained by coercion is never binding
Recent Examples of coercion from the Web
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In her rebuttal, Assistant State's Attorney Nancy Adduci blasted that argument, saying no evidence of coercion was presented at trial.
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The law relating to the trafficking of juveniles that Roach was charged with, however, does not require proof of force, fraud or coercion because minors cannot legally give consent.
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Males rarely force females to mate, but after years spent observing the animals in the wild, Huchard noticed that a subtler form of sexual coercion appeared to be going on.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange argued that CNN had violated New York criminal law on coercion.
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She was convicted of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion.
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To say otherwise is to engage in reproductive coercion.
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Republicans have denounced this as government coercion.
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UNDER CONSIDERATION Simpson was convicted in 2008 of 12 charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy, coercion, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coercion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of coercion
Middle English cohercion, borrowed from Anglo-French cohercioun, borrowed from Late Latin coerctiōn-, coerctiō, by-form of Latin coercitiōn-, coercitiō, from coerci-, variant stem of coercēre “to coerce” + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action
Law Dictionary
coercion
playLegal Definition of coercion
: the use of express or implied threats of violence or reprisal (as discharge from employment) or other intimidating behavior that puts a person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to act against his or her will; also : the defense that one acted under coercion — see also defense, duress — compare undue influence
Learn More about coercion
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See words that rhyme with coercion Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for coercion Spanish Central: Translation of coercion Nglish: Translation of coercion for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of coercion for Arabic speakers
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