as in unwilling
not made or done willingly or by choice
coerced participation that couldn't last
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in forced
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
was coerced into signing the document
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Recent Examples of coerced
Samer Sinijlawi, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025
Prosecutors retried one of the men, John Kogut – who had made a coerced confession to the murder – but he was acquitted.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
The coerced confession sparked a series of events that would derail the lives of Springsteen and Michael Scott, who were both wrongly convicted and imprisoned for the yogurt shop murders.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 5 Oct. 2025
Winters writes that this initial system of coerced labor didn’t go very well for the elites.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025
Like Netflix's popular 2015 docuseries Making a Murderer, The Yogurt Shop Murders explores unethical interrogation tactics used by law enforcement and questions of coerced confessions.
—EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Joan Murray, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
Two similar situated individuals, both coerced to commit a murder have a different sentencing structure.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
Kamaria Nelson, 25, was charged with pandering and robbing the girl, who police say left her group home last year in the company of another teen, two women, and an adult who allegedly coerced her into prostitution.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026
While titles are not yet being disclosed, the first series is set in a ruthless fashion empire where a desperate young designer is coerced by her stepmother into spying on a notorious playboy CEO.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Over the years, the gaming platform has been at the center of several lawsuits, including one filed last year where a California woman alleged that her teenage son was groomed and coerced to send explicit images on Roblox and Discord.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 20 Feb. 2026
Hearst maintained that she was coerced, but she was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Feb. 2026
The state’s prisons unconstitutionally coerced labor by levying severe punishments — including solitary confinement — against prisoners who refused to work, Denver District Court Judge Sarah Wallace found in the 61-page ruling.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2026
Lawsuit alleges Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem coerced Apple to remove Indiana man's ICE monitoring app.
—Evan Frank, IndyStar, 12 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Deradicalization is equally vital—not as a coerced reeducation, but as part of a healing process that encompasses Israelis as well as Palestinians.
—Samer Sinijlawi, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025
Prosecutors retried one of the men, John Kogut – who had made a coerced confession to the murder – but he was acquitted.
—Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
The coerced confession sparked a series of events that would derail the lives of Springsteen and Michael Scott, who were both wrongly convicted and imprisoned for the yogurt shop murders.
—Emiliano Tahui Gómez, Austin American Statesman, 5 Oct. 2025
Winters writes that this initial system of coerced labor didn’t go very well for the elites.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 Aug. 2025
Like Netflix's popular 2015 docuseries Making a Murderer, The Yogurt Shop Murders explores unethical interrogation tactics used by law enforcement and questions of coerced confessions.
—EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Verb
However, in early 2026, Banegas claimed his attorneys coerced him into pleading guilty and sought to change his plea.
—Joan Murray, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
Two similar situated individuals, both coerced to commit a murder have a different sentencing structure.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 3 Mar. 2026
Kamaria Nelson, 25, was charged with pandering and robbing the girl, who police say left her group home last year in the company of another teen, two women, and an adult who allegedly coerced her into prostitution.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2026
While titles are not yet being disclosed, the first series is set in a ruthless fashion empire where a desperate young designer is coerced by her stepmother into spying on a notorious playboy CEO.
—Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2026
Over the years, the gaming platform has been at the center of several lawsuits, including one filed last year where a California woman alleged that her teenage son was groomed and coerced to send explicit images on Roblox and Discord.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 20 Feb. 2026
Hearst maintained that she was coerced, but she was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Feb. 2026
The state’s prisons unconstitutionally coerced labor by levying severe punishments — including solitary confinement — against prisoners who refused to work, Denver District Court Judge Sarah Wallace found in the 61-page ruling.
—Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 16 Feb. 2026
Lawsuit alleges Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem coerced Apple to remove Indiana man's ICE monitoring app.
—Evan Frank, IndyStar, 12 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coerced
Adjective
-
Iran was either unable or unwilling to help Hamas or Hezbollah fend off Israeli attacks.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Many people fear the ocean and are unwilling to enter its waters.—
Stella Fong,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Israeli strikes on Iranian oil fields and Iranian drone attacks elsewhere have forced production to slow or halt, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed over fear of vessels being targeted by Tehran.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart helped spearhead a strong defensive effort that held New York to less than 100 points and forced eight key turnovers late in the game.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Everybody to Kenmure Street charts the events of the spontaneous community protest on Glasgow’s Kenmure Street, when hundreds united to stop the deportation of their neighbours.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The Bottom Line A spontaneous spring break trip is more doable than many travelers assume.—
Lauren Schuster,
Miami Herald,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This year, Israelis were compelled by circumstance to celebrate Purim in or near their bomb shelters.—
Michael M. Rosen,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
-
With former swing tackle Yosh Nijman retiring Wednesday, the Panthers were compelled to look elsewhere for Ekwonu insurance.—
Mike Kaye
Updated March 13,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Baker said Wednesday the bill’s life sentence provision would not include cases where a reckless or drunken driver caused the accidental death of an officer.—
Marta Zherukha,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
-
However, prosecutors say Lee’s questions did not accurately describe the bloody scene or his girlfriend’s body, which showed multiple injuries and blunt force trauma that could not be explained by an accidental fall and instead indicated a violent struggle.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This last image was already ripe for parody decades ago, and Koos Kombuis obliged in his 1980 song Kaalvoet (Barefoot), sending the trekkers over the mountains with picnic hampers, polony, and their sneakers (takkies) forgotten at home.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The state felt obliged to make up the difference.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The same day, Weber’s office argued that the Secretary of State is not obligated to enforce the residency requirement.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
10 Mar. 2026
-
If it is now widely accepted that truthful portrayals of war are both technically and morally impossible, what are artists still obligated to picture in this moment when war is proliferating across the globe?—
Hanlu Zhang,
Artforum,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coerced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coerced. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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