duress

[doo-res, dyoo-, door-is, dyoor-]

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noun

compulsion by threat or force; coercion; constraint.

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.

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

Synonyms for duress

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1. intimidation, pressure, bullying, browbeating.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for duress

coercion, control, discipline, imprisonment, force, bondage, restraint, violence, detention, constraint, pressure, confinement, incarceration, compulsion, captivity

Examples from the Web for duress

Contemporary Examples of duress

In moments of duress, a different self manifests with acts of destruction: unleashed id in Freudian, or Incredible Hulk, terms.
A Different Kind of Vietnam Story
J.T. Price
October 9, 2014
Under “fear, threats, and duress,” Egan says he signed the form, “a false declaration denying any childhood sexual abuse” by Doe.
New Hollywood Sex Scandal: Bryan Singer’s Accuser Files Another Suit
Tim Teeman
June 10, 2014
But the sense of duress surrounding the regime this time around seems especially pronounced.
Syria’s Prime Minister Defects to Rebels
Mike Giglio
August 6, 2012

Historical Examples of duress

He was a mechanic, brought along under some duress to service the machine.
Pagan Passions
Gordon Randall Garrett
He considered himself as, in fact, in duress, and his actions as not free.
William the Conqueror
Jacob Abbott
Was she in duress either from this Ironhook or from her father, or from both?
Hereward, The Last of the English
Charles Kingsley
The commission, extorted by force, is null and void when the duress is removed.
Hansford: A Tale of Bacon's Rebellion
St. George Tucker
When the consent of either party was obtained by force, duress or fraud.
Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World
Hyacinthe Ringrose

British Dictionary definitions for duress

duress

noun

compulsion by use of force or threat; constraint; coercion (often in the phrase under duress)

law the illegal exercise of coercion

confinement; imprisonment

Word Origin for duress

C14: from Old French duresse, from Latin dūritia hardness, from dūrus hard

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for duress

early 14c., "harsh or severe treatment," from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia "hardness," from durus "hard" (see endure). The Old French suffix -esse is from Latin -itia, added to adjectives to form nouns of quality (cf. riches, largesse). Sense of "coercion, compulsion" is from 1590s.