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as in influential
having power over the minds or behavior of others a forceful speaker whose words moved the audience to tears

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 forceful Harmon’s forceful interior presence and pass-rushing skills are needed as Green Bay waits for other recent first-round linemen to improve. Ben Standig, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025 Harmon’s forceful interior presence and pass-rushing skills are needed as Green Bay waits for other recent first-round linemen to improve. Ben Standig, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025 But after more forceful stimulus was announced late last year, analysts started to predict a bottom could come as soon as later this year. Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 21 Mar. 2025 She was so thrown off with how forceful Selena was being; everything happened so fast. Mya Abraham, VIBE.com, 17 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for forceful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forceful
Adjective
  • Either way, there do not appear to be many other compelling paths for either Cargill or Naomi to take after WrestleMania 41 that don’t involve each other.
    Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The Spirit and Pride’s rivalry is quickly becoming one of the most compelling matchups in the league.
    Asli Pelit, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • More likely than an all-out boycott, say attorneys, is a new era in which taxpayers and their accountants push the envelope with aggressive tax-planning techniques that may escape the review of an understaffed agency.
    Robert Frank, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Even though Trump showed signs of softening his aggressive tariff plan with an exemption last week for smartphones, computers and other electronics and floated a temporary exemption for autos, the administration continues to be amadamant more tariffs are coming soon.
    Medora Lee, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This results in a charge imbalance that builds up an electric field strong enough to trigger flashes of lightning.
    National Geographic, National Geographic, 13 Jan. 2023
  • According to research from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control, strong gun control laws are correlated with fewer gun deaths.
    Elliot Hughes, Journal Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2023
Adjective
  • Two influential New York City labor unions that backed Mayor Eric Adams in 2021 switched their support on Monday to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, reflecting his growing dominance as the race for mayor accelerates.
    Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Beyond artists like Catlett and Biggers – who have earned renown as influential masters, but not the art market compensation of their white peers – The Bronx Museum shines a spotlight on emerging artists whose work challenges cultural and social norms and whisks viewers out of their comfort zones.
    Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Tonge is convincing in his conclusion that the religious orders are a permanent feature of Turkish politics and public life.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Daniel Farke’s side could not have been more convincing in their final push for the Premier League.
    Gregg Evans, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The former 154-pound champion started putting the building blocks back in place to make a run back at a world title with an emphatic fourth-round TKO win over Joey Spencer.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Houston was plenty impressive in its own right last weekend, squeaking by Purdue (4) before suffocating Tennessee (2) in an emphatic 69-50 Elite Eight win.
    Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • One study showed that a maximum reduction in mortality could result from 150 to 300 minutes per week of vigorous activity, 300 to 600 minutes per week of moderate physical activity, or a combination of these.2 2.
    Amy Kwan, Verywell Health, 16 Apr. 2025
  • Advocates of vigorous government oversight look upon the concept of federal preemption as a tool of deregulation.
    Glenn G. Lammi, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • In this authoritative, elegant biography, Daut meticulously combs the torrents of contemporary letters and broadsheets to draw a complex, contradictory portrait of Christophe, also known as King Henry.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • The distant therapist Not too long ago, therapists acted like black boxes and authoritative gods.
    David E. Tolchinsky, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Forceful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forceful. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

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