HOBSON'S CHOICE Synonyms: 23 Similar and Opposite Words

Hobson's choice

noun

Definition of Hobson's choice

as in coercion

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of Hobson's choice Read my lips, in a veritable Hobson's choice between person or thing, AI is a thing, for now. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 June 2022

Recent Examples of Synonyms for Hobson's choice

Noun

Audience capture operates through reinforcement rather than coercion.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
But anger over government coercion shouldn’t become hostility toward a promising medical technology.

— Sally C. Pipes, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of coercion

Noun

The Navy said the two organizations will create a direct feedback loop between the acquisition enterprise and operational forces.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026
Whichever one remains standing will be wounded and weakened, and the human forces can then finish that monster off.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of force

Noun

Let the national flag float over every schoolhouse in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026
Pembroke Pines officers asked the sheriff’s office to handle the homicide investigation — John retired from the Pembroke Pines Police Department following nearly 28 years of service and his on-duty motorcycle crash.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of duty

Noun

Conversely, the players’ obligations remain individual, unfinanced and absorbed across 1,200 separate household clocks.

— Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026
And even with an involved father, mothers continue to carry the invisible mental load of the family, an unseen burden of data, obligations and preemptive planning tasks.

— Megan Kuykendoll, The Conversation, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of obligation

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Style

“Hobson's choice.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Hobson%27s%20choice. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of Hobson's choice

noun

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