unforced

adjective

un·​forced ˌən-ˈfȯrst How to pronounce unforced (audio)
: not forced: such as
a
: done or produced naturally or with minimal effort
a genuine, unforced smile
His writing has a natural, unforced style.
b
: caused by one's own poor play, performance, etc.
an unforced error in tennis

Examples of unforced in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But TikTok has also made a series of unforced errors that have hurt its cause. Kevin Roose, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Those trials, which have been hampered and delayed by Trump’s motions and appeals (and some unforced errors by the Fulton County prosecutor, Fani Willis), now look likely to take place after the election, if at all. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024 With so few opportunities, an unforced error taking Democrats out of play in Mr. Valadao’s district would loom large. Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Still, the unforced error brought a lot of laughs on social media. Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 23 Feb. 2024 More news:Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say The bottle of melatonin gummies was turned over to the investigators. Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Feb. 2024 The 19-year-old U.S. Open winner overcame 51 unforced errors, nine double-faults and had just 17 winners to beat Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2 Tuesday in a quarterfinal match that lasted 3 hours, 8 minutes. Simon Cambers, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2024 And given that the U.S. is currently preventing these dismal outcomes at a cost of just 5% to 6% of its annual defense budget — and without putting a single American soldier in combat — such a retreat would constitute one of the great unforced errors in the history of U.S. foreign policy. Hal Brands, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Leaders of companies must consider diverse viewpoints to avoid poor or non-optimal decision-making, missteps, major public blunders and unforced errors that can drive away customers and be costly to reputation and revenue. Gregory Crawford, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unforced.' 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

1605, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unforced was in 1605

Dictionary Entries Near unforced

Cite this Entry

“Unforced.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unforced. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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