as in persistent
formal
using force or threats to make someone do something; using coercion
coercive measures
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Recent Examples of coercive
The recruitment process is also coercive, experts say.
—
David Pierson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
From there, Byron embarks on a journey toward womanhood but gets embroiled in deeply coercive and often uncomfortable relationships along the way.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
While the precise conditions faced by these workers remain unclear, United Nations labor experts, academics and human rights advocates assert that the programs are coercive in nature.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
And what emerges from my book is an individual with fault lines within himself, an individual who was a man of competing impulses, an individual who was no stranger to the extraordinary emotional, organizational and coercive power of the party but also had his own views on things.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for coercive
David Pierson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
From there, Byron embarks on a journey toward womanhood but gets embroiled in deeply coercive and often uncomfortable relationships along the way.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 June 2025
While the precise conditions faced by these workers remain unclear, United Nations labor experts, academics and human rights advocates assert that the programs are coercive in nature.
—David Pierson, New York Times, 29 May 2025
And what emerges from my book is an individual with fault lines within himself, an individual who was a man of competing impulses, an individual who was no stranger to the extraordinary emotional, organizational and coercive power of the party but also had his own views on things.
—Emily Feng, NPR, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for coercive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coercive
Adjective
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Put another way, even though China will remain a persistent and formidable challenger to the United States, and even though much of Southeast Asia seems to be gravitating toward China, Beijing still has a lot of work to do to allay concerns and win the trust of regional states.—
Yuen Foong Khong,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Despite their diversity, these groups share common threads of systemic exclusion from traditional financial services, contributing to persistent inequities in wealth and opportunity.—
Kevin Cohee,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
Adjective
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The concern is even more pressing considering a report released in January by the National Assessment of Educational Progress that shows that the reading proficiency for fourth and eighth graders in the United States continues to decline.—
Jerald McNair,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2025
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The four-day documentary film festival kicked off on June 12 and highlighted films that explore some of America’s most pressing issues, including school shootings, book banning that target race and LGBTQIA+ issues, attacks on free speech and the country’s growing income and wealth divide.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
15 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coercive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coercive. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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