force

[ fawrs, fohrs ]

/ fɔrs, foʊrs /

noun

physical power or strength possessed by a living being: He used all his force in opening the window.

strength or power exerted upon an object; physical coercion; violence: to use force to open the window; to use force on a person.

strength; energy; power; intensity: a personality of great force.

power to influence, affect, or control; efficacious power: the force of circumstances; a force for law and order.

Law. unlawful violence threatened or committed against persons or property.

persuasive power; power to convince: They felt the force of his arguments.

mental or moral strength: force of character.

might, as of a ruler or realm; strength for war.

Often forces. the military or fighting strength, especially of a nation.

any body of persons combined for joint action: a sales force.

intensity or strength of effect: the force of her acting.

Physics.

an influence on a body or system, producing or tending to produce a change in movement or in shape or other effects.
the intensity of such an influence. Symbol: F, f

any influence or agency analogous to physical force: social forces.

binding power, as of a contract.

Baseball. force play.

value; significance; meaning.

Billiards. a stroke in which the cue ball is forcibly struck directly below the center in such a manner as to cause it to stop abruptly, bound back, or roll off to one side after hitting the object ball.

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

to compel, constrain, or oblige (oneself or someone) to do something: to force a suspect to confess.

to drive or propel against resistance: He forced his way through the crowd. They forced air into his lungs.

to bring about or effect by force.

to bring about of necessity or as a necessary result: to force a smile.

to put or impose (something or someone) forcibly on or upon a person: to force one's opinions on others.

to compel by force; overcome the resistance of: to force acceptance of something.

to obtain or draw forth by or as if by force; extort: to force a confession.

to enter or take by force; overpower: They forced the town after a long siege.

to break open (a door, lock, etc.).

to cause (plants, fruits, etc.) to grow or mature at an increased rate by artificial means.

to press, urge, or exert (an animal, person, etc.) to violent effort or to the utmost.

to use force upon.

to rape.

Baseball.

to cause (a base runner) to be put out by obliging the runner, as by a ground ball, to vacate a base and attempt to move to the next base in order to make room for another runner or the batter.
to cause (a base runner or run) to score, as by walking a batter with the bases full (often followed by in).

Cards.

to compel (a player) to trump by leading a suit of which the player has no cards.
to compel a player to play (a particular card).
to compel (a player) to play so as to make known the strength of the hand.

Photography.

to develop (a print or negative) for longer than usual in order to increase density or bring out details.
to bring out underexposed parts of (a print or negative) by adding alkali to the developer.

Archaic. to give force to; strengthen; reinforce.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

to make one's way by force.

Idioms for force

in force,

in operation; effective: This ancient rule is no longer in force.
in large numbers; at full strength: They attacked in force.

Origin of force

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *fortia, derivative of Latin fortis strong; (v.) Middle English forcen < Anglo-French, Old French forcer, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR force

3 vigor.

4 compulsion, constraint.

6 efficacy, effectiveness, cogency, potency, validity.

18 coerce.

19 impel.

25 overcome; violate, ravish, rape.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR force ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR force

3 weakness.

6 impotence.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR force ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for force

3. See strength.

historical usage of force

Force has a straightforward, uncomplicated history: the word comes via Old French force from fortia, an unattested Vulgar Latin feminine singular noun from Latin fortia, a neuter plural adjective used as a noun, and derived from the adjective fortis “strong, robust, brave.” Nouns and adjectives that were originally neuter in Latin usually become masculine in Romance (languages descended from Latin): corpus “body,” neuter in Latin, becomes corps in French, corpo in Italian, and cuerpo in Spanish, all masculine nouns. The notable exception is that many Latin neuter plural adjectives and participles ending in -ia become feminine singular nouns in Romance because these neuter plurals end in -a, which looks like the singular of Latin feminine nouns of the first declension, especially if the new noun has an abstract or collective meaning. So appārentia, the neuter plural of Latin appārēns “apparent,” will become apparence in French, apparenza in Italian, apariencia in Spanish, aparança in Catalan, and aparenţă in Romanian; and fortia will become force in French, forza in Italian, fuerza in Spanish, força in Catalan, and forţă in Romanian.

OTHER WORDS FROM force

force·a·ble, adjective force·less, adjective forc·er, noun forc·ing·ly, adverb

in·ter·force, noun o·ver·force, noun o·ver·force, verb, o·ver·forced, o·ver·forc·ing. un·force·a·ble, adjective un·forc·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH force

coerce compel constrain force oblige

Words nearby force

forbidding, forbore, forborne, forbush decrease, forby, force, force carrier, force cup, force de frappe, force feed, force fit

British Dictionary definitions for in force (1 of 2)

force ¹

/ (fɔːs) /

noun

strength or energy; might; power the force of the blow; a gale of great force

exertion or the use of exertion against a person or thing that resists; coercion

physics

a dynamic influence that changes a body from a state of rest to one of motion or changes its rate of motion. The magnitude of the force is equal to the product of the mass of the body and its acceleration
a static influence that produces an elastic strain in a body or system or bears weightSymbol: F

physics any operating influence that produces or tends to produce a change in a physical quantity electromotive force; coercive force

intellectual, social, political, or moral influence or strengththe force of his argument; the forces of evil
a person or thing with such influencehe was a force in the land

vehemence or intensity he spoke with great force

a group of persons organized for military or police functions armed forces

the force (sometimes capital) informal the police force

a group of persons organized for particular duties or tasks a workforce

criminal law violence unlawfully committed or threatened

philosophy logic that which an expression is normally used to achieve See speech act, illocution, perlocution

in force

(of a law) having legal validity or binding effect
in great strength or numbers

join forces to combine strengths, efforts, etc

verb (tr)

to compel or cause (a person, group, etc) to do something through effort, superior strength, etc; coerce

to acquire, secure, or produce through effort, superior strength, etc to force a confession

to propel or drive despite resistance to force a nail into wood

to break down or open (a lock, safe, door, etc)

to impose or inflict he forced his views on them

to cause (plants or farm animals) to grow or fatten artificially at an increased rate

to strain or exert to the utmost to force the voice

to rape; ravish

cards

to compel (a player) to trump in order to take a trick
to compel a player by the lead of a particular suit to play (a certain card)
(in bridge) to induce (a bid) from one's partner by bidding in a certain way

force a smile to make oneself smile

force down to compel an aircraft to land

force the pace to adopt a high speed or rate of procedure

Derived forms of force

forceable, adjective forceless, adjective forcer, noun forcingly, adverb

Word Origin for force

C13: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin fortia (unattested), from Latin fortis strong

British Dictionary definitions for in force (2 of 2)

force ²

/ (fɔːs) /

noun

(in northern England) a waterfall

Word Origin for force

C17: from Old Norse fors

Medical definitions for in force

force

[ fôrs ]

n.

The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power.

A vector quantity that tends to produce an acceleration of a body in the direction of its application.

Scientific definitions for in force

force

[ fôrs ]

Any of various factors that cause a body to change its speed, direction, or shape. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction. Contributions of force from different sources can be summed to give the net force at any given point.

Any of the four natural phenomena involving the interaction between particles of matter. From the strongest to the weakest, the four forces are the strong nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity.

Cultural definitions for in force

force

In physics, something that causes a change in the motion of an object. The modern definition of force (an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration) was given by Isaac Newton in Newton's laws of motion. The most familiar unit of force is the pound. (See mechanics.)

notes for force

Gravity, and therefore weight, is a kind of force.

Idioms and Phrases with in force (1 of 2)

in force

In full strength, in large numbers, as in Demonstrators were out in force. This usage originally alluded to a large military force. [Early 1300s]

Operative, binding, as in This rule is no longer in force. This usage originally alluded to the binding power of a law. [Late 1400s]

Idioms and Phrases with in force (2 of 2)

force

In addition to the idioms beginning with force

force someone's hand
force to be reckoned with

also see:

brute force
driving force
in force
join forces
reckon with (force to be reckoned with)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

force

noun

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

Idioms for force

Origin of force

SYNONYMS FOR force

ANTONYMS FOR force

synonym study for force

historical usage of force

OTHER WORDS FROM force

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH force

Words nearby force

British Dictionary definitions for in force (1 of 2)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of force

Word Origin for force

British Dictionary definitions for in force (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for force

Medical definitions for in force

n.

Scientific definitions for in force

Cultural definitions for in force

notes for force

Idioms and Phrases with in force (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with in force (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

force

noun

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

Idioms for force

Origin of force

SYNONYMS FOR force

ANTONYMS FOR force

synonym study for force

historical usage of force

OTHER WORDS FROM force

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH force

Words nearby force

Words related to in force

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for in force (1 of 2)

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of force

Word Origin for force

British Dictionary definitions for in force (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for force

Medical definitions for in force

n.

Scientific definitions for in force

Cultural definitions for in force

notes for force

Idioms and Phrases with in force (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with in force (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for in force (1 of 2)