duress
Americannoun
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compulsion by threat or force; coercion; constraint.
- Synonyms:
- pressure, intimidation
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Law. such constraint or coercion as will render void a contract or other legal act entered or performed under its influence.
-
forcible restraint, especially imprisonment.
noun
-
compulsion by use of force or threat; constraint; coercion (often in the phrase under duress )
-
law the illegal exercise of coercion
-
confinement; imprisonment
Etymology
Origin of duress
1275–1325; Middle English duresse < Middle French duresse, -esce, -ece < Latin dūritia hardness, harshness, oppression, equivalent to dūr ( us ) hard + -itia -ice
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.
Canada’s economy is struggling with slow growth, with manufacturers under duress from hefty U.S. tariffs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
Inflation around the same level gives space for further ECB loosening in the event of economic duress.
From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026
Haggis has its defenders, but it is not, for most Americans, a food you crave under emotional duress.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
However, Masud has claimed the confession is false, was made under duress and should be ruled inadmissible before his trial in Washington DC later this year.
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026
My biology textbook said that dogs can smell fear because of a chemical secreted by human glands in a state of duress, the same chemical a dog’s prey secretes.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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.
