coerced

American  

[koh-ursd] / koʊˈɜrsd /

adjective

1. forced or compelled through intimidation or authority, especially without regard for individual volition.

   A judge decided that key evidence, obtained from a coerced 14-year-old boy, was unreliable.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of coerce.

Other Word Forms

• uncoerced adjective

Etymology

Origin of coerced

coerce ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

In the end, however, the punditry did not need to be coerced into cheerleading.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026

“It’s not forced on you, because then it’s fake, man. If it’s coerced, I don’t buy it.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

But not since 1903, the year Theodore Roosevelt coerced Colombia to relinquish what became the Panama Canal, has a U.S. president forced a foreign government to give Washington significant land.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

Sure enough, the Taliban launched Chinese-made rockets at the base after dark, planted there, we were told, by farmers who had been either bribed or coerced into doing so.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

But in the darkness, while my teeth were slowly coerced into straightness, the rest of my face had begun to give in to a stronger, genetic predisposition toward crookedness.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• compelled
• contrived
• enforced
• involuntary
• mandatory
• unwilling