coaction

¹ American  

[koh-ak-shuhn] / koʊˈæk ʃən /

noun

1. force or compulsion, either in restraining or in impelling.

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coaction ² American  

[koh-ak-shuhn] / koʊˈæk ʃən /

noun

1. joint action.

2. Ecology. any interaction among organisms within a community.

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coaction ¹ British  

/ kəʊˈækʃən /

noun

1. any relationship between organisms within a community

2. joint action

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coaction ² British  

/ kəʊˈækʃən /

noun

1. obsolete a force or compulsion, either to compel or restrain

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Other Word Forms

• coactive adjective
• coactively adverb
• coactivity noun

Etymology

Origin of coaction¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin coāctiōn- (stem of coactiō ), equivalent to coāct ( us ) (past participle of cōgere; cogent, co-, act ) + -iōn- -ion

Origin of coaction²

First recorded in 1615–25; co- + action

Example Sentences

One is constraint; the same is otherwise called force, compulsion, and coaction; which is a person's being necessitated to do a thing contrary to his will.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. IX (of X) - America - I by Lodge, Henry Cabot

There was one direct coaction between these two species observed.

From A Population Study of the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) in Northeastern Kansas by Martin, Edwin P.