Synonym Chooser

How is the word coerce different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of coerce are compel, constrain, force, and oblige. While all these words mean "to make someone or something yield," coerce suggests overcoming resistance or unwillingness by actual or threatened violence or pressure.

coerced into signing over the rights

When would compel be a good substitute for coerce?

The meanings of compel and coerce largely overlap; however, compel typically suggests overcoming of resistance or unwillingness by an irresistible force.

compelled to admit my mistake

When is it sensible to use constrain instead of coerce?

The words constrain and coerce can be used in similar contexts, but constrain suggests the effect of a force or circumstance that limits freedom of action or choice.

constrained by conscience

In what contexts can force take the place of coerce?

While in some cases nearly identical to coerce, force is the general term and implies the overcoming of resistance by the exertion of strength, power, or duress.

forced to flee for their lives

When might oblige be a better fit than coerce?

While the synonyms oblige and coerce are close in meaning, oblige implies the constraint of necessity, law, or duty.

felt obliged to go

Example Sentences

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 coerce Defense attorneys for the juvenile defendants, Matthew Niemiec and Mark Grier, said the suspects were coerced into the alleged crime. Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2025 Scammers often ask for money or coerce their victims into performing harmful acts. Nicole Valdes, CBS News, 31 May 2025 Last year, the department paid out nearly $1 million to settle with a man who said that, over the course of a 17-hour interrogation, officers coerced him into confessing to a murder that never took place. Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2025 Families were coerced into giving up their children or were forcibly separated as state and federal authorities took them. Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 20 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for coerce
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coerce
Verb
  • In a time of scorching divisions, interviewees felt compelled by the call to act with collective spirit.
    Talia Milgrom-Elcott, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
  • In over 40 instances of strategic bombing from World War I to the first Gulf War in 1991, such barrages, whether concentrated and heavy or light and dispersed, never compelled civilians to take to the streets in any meaningful numbers to oppose their governments.
    Robert A. Pape, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • The shutdowns have caused significant disruptions to regional air traffic and forced airlines to reroute flights.
    Amanda Castro Hannah Parry Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
  • Damaging Iran’s nuclear facilities, decapitating its leadership structure, and repeatedly disrupting its enrichment efforts forces Tehran into a permanent state of caution.
    David A. Deptula, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • But as a student of history, a patriotic American who flies the flag at my house every day, who keeps a large portrait of George Washington in my living room, I am obligated to do something rather than passively sit by while the unacceptable becomes normalized.
    Doug McIntyre, Oc Register, 22 June 2025
  • In February, the administration said nine state agencies, boards and commissions were unable to access funding obligated by the federal government.
    Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to oblige the governor’s request.
    David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 25 June 2025
  • Surveillance, not least of millions of Palestinians under occupation (and obliged to use Israeli phone systems), generated startups like the spyware firm NSO Group, which soon found clients in the Arab regimes.
    Karl Vick, Time, 19 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Coerce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coerce. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on coerce

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