coerce
Americanverb (used with object)
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coerces,
present (3rd person singular)
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coerced,
past participle, past
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coercing
present participle
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to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without regard for individual desire or volition.
They coerced him into signing the document.
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to bring about through the use of force or other forms of compulsion; exact.
to coerce obedience.
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to dominate or control, especially by exploiting fear, anxiety, etc..
The state is based on successfully coercing the individual.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coercesimple
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coercessimple
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have coercedperfect
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has coercedperfect
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am coercingprogressive
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are coercingprogressive
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is coercingprogressive
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have been coercingperfect progressive
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has been coercingperfect progressive
Past
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coercedsimple
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had coercedperfect
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was coercingprogressive
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were coercingprogressive
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had been coercingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coerce
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin coercēre “to hold in, restrain,” equivalent to co- co- + -ercēre, combining form of arcēre “to keep in, keep away,” akin to arca ark
Explanation
You can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can coerce — or pressure — someone to attend your office holiday party, but you can't make him have fun. If you're at a point where you feel like you need to coerce someone into doing something, it might be more civilized to just give up. To coerce is to manipulate, use aggressive arguments, pressure unfairly, or threaten — really, this isn't very civilized behavior, is it? Handy synonyms for this verb include force and pressure. In a gangster film, you might hear a character say he "put the squeeze" on someone — another way of saying he coerced them.
Vocabulary lists containing coerce
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Vullo, in which the court held that the government cannot use informal tactics, like thinly-veiled threats of selective enforcement or demands for cooperation, to coerce private actors.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
"The approach now is to try and befriend people, rather than coerce them."
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Mr. Fabian’s accurate reporting had cost a particular set of bettors their wagers, and they were trying to coerce him into rewriting reality so that the market would resolve their way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
"If he were to adopt an unfriendly stance -- demanding concessions from China or attempting to coerce us into doing things we are unwilling to do, we would strike back with force," Wen told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026
She grappled briefly with Bloomberg, trying to coerce him into a docile lap-cat’s repose.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
“We’re both familiar with what can happen and what has happened, when the state coerces people and restricts fundamental human rights, on a very personal level,” Howald said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
Regulators also say Amazon coerces sellers into signing up for FBA in order to reach customers on the Amazon store.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2023
Lawsuits also say the program unconstitutionally coerces drugmakers into selling their products at inadequate prices.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 30, 2023
Just do not be surprised when your sister-in-law ignores any handwritten invitations and coerces you into sending text reminders anyway.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2023
She slips away, and I grit my teeth as Grandfather coerces me into a stilted discussion with the governor.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
The scandal saw the mothers, including many who were teenagers, coerced into giving up their children, with social, institutional and family pressures used to persuade them that adoption was their only option.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The patients I know who contributed to the hospital to “honor” their doctor were certainly not coerced.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
It found there was no single perpetrator of the practice in Britain, but "government decisions shaped the environment in which unmarried mothers were often shamed and coerced into having their children put up for adoption".
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, China is known to have “conducted coerced repatriations of economic fugitives from the U.K. and kidnapping of dual nationals overseas.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
He believes these people to be in the majority in Germany at the present time but feels they are coerced into following Hitler's methods and program.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
“Detaining people and not giving them the chance to get out of detention is a way of coercing people to give up their claims.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
"The observers do not allege any verbal instruction or physical conduct that indicated one person was directing or coercing another regarding how to vote."
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
At times “strategic ambiguity” can be a useful tool for coercing foes to act in certain ways or even to step down from power.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2025
A sports coach at a Taiwanese university has issued a formal apology over a research project that allegedly involved her coercing students into giving blood, according to local media.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2025
He had a very ample force for maintaining his position, but he had not sufficient to make coercing a powerful village an easy task.
From My Experiences in Manipur and the Naga Hills by James Johnstone, chevalier de Johnstone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
