coerce

[ koh-urs ]

/ koʊˈɜrs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR coerce ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), co·erced, co·erc·ing.

to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without regard for individual desire or volition: They coerced him into signing the document.

to bring about through the use of force or other forms of compulsion; exact: to coerce obedience.

to dominate or control, especially by exploiting fear, anxiety, etc.: The state is based on successfully coercing the individual.

Origin of coerce

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin coercēre to hold in, restrain, equivalent to co- co- + -ercēre, combining form of arcēre to keep in, keep away, akin to arca ark

OTHER WORDS FROM coerce

co·erc·er, noun co·er·ci·ble, adjective non·co·er·ci·ble, adjective un·co·erced, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH coerce

coerce compel constrain force oblige

Words nearby coerce

coenzyme, coenzyme a, coenzyme q, coenzyme q 10, coequal, coerce, coercimeter, coercion, coercive, coercive force, coercivity

Example sentences from the Web for coerce

A fellow justice also accused McCaffery of attempting to coerce him into opposing Castille.

Judges Behaving Badly: A Great American Tradition |Asawin Suebsaeng |October 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Once again Russia brandishes the threat of a gas cutoff to squeeze Kiev and coerce Europe.

In Ukraine, Winter Is Coming |Anna Nemtsova |September 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In other instances, CIA recruiters used thinly veiled threats to coerce their cooperation.

The CIA Tried Hard to Recruit Spies Among the Al Qaeda Prisoners at Gitmo |Daniel Klaidman |November 28, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Religious liberty, Jefferson argued, denies the majority any right to coerce a dissenting minority, even one hostile to religion.

Thomas Jefferson’s Quran: How Islam Shaped the Founders |R.B. Bernstein |September 29, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

His decision to coerce Netanyahu into imposing a 10-month settlement freeze was also a colossal misjudgment.

The Dilemma Of An Israeli Democrat |Paul Gross |November 2, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The clergy alone possessed any power besides the Tsar; but the Church was unable to coerce him or to save the people.

The Story of Moscow |Wirt Gerrare
The bitterness inspired by these attempts to coerce the President may be gauged by a remark attributed to Mrs. Davis.

The Day of the Confederacy |Nathaniel W. Stephenson
Thus matters remained in 1867-70, the Pope relying on the support of French bayonets to coerce his own subjects.

The Development of the European Nations, 1870-1914 (5th ed.) |John Holland Rose
Identical Note, a term in diplomacy to denote terms agreed upon by two Powers to coerce a third.

The Nuttall Encyclopaedia |Edited by Rev. James Wood
No shivering Dot to coerce into good humor; no feckless Jack to frown into order; no grim Deborah to coax and help.

Esther |Rosa Nouchette Carey

British Dictionary definitions for coerce

coerce

/ (kəʊˈɜːs) /

verb

(tr) to compel or restrain by force or authority without regard to individual wishes or desires

Derived forms of coerce

coercer, noun coercible, adjective

Word Origin for coerce

C17: from Latin coercēre to confine, restrain, from co- together + arcēre to enclose

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

coerce

verb (used with object), co·erced, co·erc·ing.

Origin of coerce

OTHER WORDS FROM coerce

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH coerce

Words nearby coerce

Example sentences from the Web for coerce

British Dictionary definitions for coerce

verb

Derived forms of coerce

Word Origin for coerce

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

coerce

verb (used with object), co·erced, co·erc·ing.

Origin of coerce

OTHER WORDS FROM coerce

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH coerce

Words nearby coerce

Words related to coerce

Example sentences from the Web for coerce

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for coerce

verb

Derived forms of coerce

Word Origin for coerce

British Dictionary definitions for coerce