coerce
Americanverb (used with object)
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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 ruling found the subpoenas related to immigration enforcement were meant to “harass, coerce and retaliate.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
It would be just as unethical for a therapist to use treatment to pressure someone into being LGBTQ+ as it is to use treatment to coerce someone out of being such an identity.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2026
In July, another escapee, 24-year-old Laura Avtorkhanova, was found in a shelter in Georgia by a group of male relatives who reportedly tried to coerce her into returning to Russia.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025
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
"It is a stain on our history. Mothers, many young, vulnerable and without support were coerced, bullied or misled into feeling that they had no choice but to have their children taken away from them."
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
His conviction relied on a coerced confession, he told Rebin Rahmani of the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, a nonprofit group based in Paris, in a phone call that Rahmani recorded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
It said that he was waiving his right to an attorney, and that he hadn’t been coerced.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
He said that he had told lots of people—from the D.A. on down—that he had been coerced to testify falsely against Walter.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
I wonder what he thinks might motivate people to serve, instead of coercing them, and he mentions raising salaries.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
District Court for the District of Columbia, accusing them of violating the First Amendment by coercing a private entity to censor speech and threatening prosecution over the exercise of protected speech.
From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025
The board had alleged that the company had been “interfering with, restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
On their website, Steam warn of increasing reports of scammers coercing victims to purchase Steam wallet gift cards.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
Mill's leading tenet has been already stated; the only rightful ground of coercing our neighbours is self-protection.
From The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Bart., K.C.S.I. A Judge of the High Court of Justice by Stephen, Leslie, Sir
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.
