coercion

American  

[koh-ur-shuhn] / koʊˈɜr ʃən /

noun

• coercions
  plural

1. the act of coercing; use of force or intimidation to obtain compliance.

2. force or the power to use force in gaining compliance, as by a government or police force.

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coercion British  

/ kəʊˈɜːsɪv, kəʊˈɜːʃən /

noun

1. the act or power of coercing

2. government by force

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coercionist
  noun
• coerciveness
  noun
• noncoercion
  noun
• coercionary
  adjective
• coercive
  adjective
• procoercion
  adjective
• coercively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• coercions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of coercion

First recorded in 1515–25; from Medieval Latin coerciōn- stem of coerciō, shortened from coercitiō, from coercit(us) “restrained” (past participle of coercēre “to hold in, restrain”; see coerce) + -iō -ion; replacing late Middle English cohercion, from Middle French, from Latin, as above

Explanation

Coercion is making something happen by force, like when bullies use coercion to make kids give them their lunch money. Coercion can be a threat, "The shady lawyer uses coercion when he threatens to get the waiter fired if he doesn't rat out his boss," or it can be actual brute force, as when the gangster breaks the messenger's leg to keep her from talking to the police. The police might use coercion, too, to get a confession. The prefix co- is derived from the Latin word for "together." So you can't use coercion on yourself; you need someone else to force into doing something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coercion coercions

Ballistic missiles have become an instrument of geopolitical coercion because of technological change.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Taking the Fifth is not an admission of guilt - it is designed to protect individuals against coercion, mistakes, and unfair burden-shifting.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Some physicians expressed concerns about the need to protect patient trust, avoid coercion and prevent preferential treatment for wealthy donors.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

They said they view the situation as an example of captive market exploitation and economic coercion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Chandresh was more than willing to let him organize the lighting, having already deemed him invaluable to the circus planning with only mild coercion.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Who knows what coercions they deployed back in the day to corral those students into submission; at least that’s the fear evinced by today’s new campus dating policies.

From Newsweek ● Mar. 20, 2015

But even then his sufferings were aggravated by the harassing coercions of the censor.

From Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia? by Juliet M. Soskice

The coercions of this virtual captivity extended to the stipulations of the treaty presently formulated.

From The Story of Old Fort Loudon by Mary Noailles Murfree

An infantile captive wields certain coercions to fair treatment peculiar to nonage.

From The Ordeal A Mountain Romance of Tennessee by Douglas Duer

Natural love, or love free from all ceremonial coercions, is not merely not a questionable source of marital happiness: it is the only source.

From The Philosophy of Spinoza by Joseph Ratner

Related Words

• duress
• intimidation
• persuasion