coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
kō-ˈər-siv 
: serving or intended to coerce
coercive power
coercive measures
coercively
adverb
coerciveness
noun
Examples of coercive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The poem’s speaker is unnamed, one of the millions of Black Southerners who left the South for the North seeking an escape from Jim Crow, white supremacist terror, and coercive labor practices.
—
Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Would-be autocrats create environments of fear and powerlessness, using intimidation, overwhelming force or political and legal attacks, and other coercive tactics to force acquiescence and chill democratic pushback.
—Shelley Inglis, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2025
Advocates also emphasize that Krenwinkel qualifies under youth offender parole, elderly parole and domestic violence survivor parole provisions — laws designed to recognize offenders who were young, vulnerable or under coercive control at the time of their crimes.
—Stepheny Price , Melissa Chrise, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Kalra said the bill, which gives police agencies in California until 2027 to create policies that fulfill the new law, is meant to be a deterrent against coercive police interviews of family members left highly vulnerable by the shooting or serious injury of their loved one.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
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Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Would-be autocrats create environments of fear and powerlessness, using intimidation, overwhelming force or political and legal attacks, and other coercive tactics to force acquiescence and chill democratic pushback.
—Shelley Inglis, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2025
Advocates also emphasize that Krenwinkel qualifies under youth offender parole, elderly parole and domestic violence survivor parole provisions — laws designed to recognize offenders who were young, vulnerable or under coercive control at the time of their crimes.
—Stepheny Price , Melissa Chrise, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Kalra said the bill, which gives police agencies in California until 2027 to create policies that fulfill the new law, is meant to be a deterrent against coercive police interviews of family members left highly vulnerable by the shooting or serious injury of their loved one.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coercive
Cite this Entry
“Coercive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coercive. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
kō-ˈər-siv
1
: serving or intended to coerce
2
: resulting from coercion
to protect women from coercive intimacy—Kimberle Crenshaw
Kimberle CrenshawLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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