forced

[ fawrst, fohrst ]

/ fɔrst, foʊrst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forced ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

enforced or compulsory: forced labor.

strained, unnatural, or affected: a forced smile.

subjected to force.

required by circumstances; emergency: a forced landing of an airplane.

Nearby words

Origin of forced

First recorded in 1540–50; force + -ed²

Related forms

forc·ed·ly

[fawr-sid-lee, fohr-] /ˈfɔr sɪd li, ˈfoʊr-/, adverbforc·ed·ness, nounqua·si-forced, adjectiveun·forced, adjective

un·forc·ed·ly, adverb

force

[ fawrs, fohrs ]

/ fɔrs, foʊrs /

noun

physical power or strength possessed by a living being: He used all his force in opening the window.

strength or power exerted upon an object; physical coercion; violence: to use force to open the window; to use force on a person.

strength; energy; power; intensity: a personality of great force.

power to influence, affect, or control; efficacious power: the force of circumstances; a force for law and order.

Law. unlawful violence threatened or committed against persons or property.

persuasive power; power to convince: They felt the force of his arguments.

mental or moral strength: force of character.

might, as of a ruler or realm; strength for war.

Often forces. the military or fighting strength, especially of a nation.

any body of persons combined for joint action: a sales force.

intensity or strength of effect: the force of her acting.

Physics.

an influence on a body or system, producing or tending to produce a change in movement or in shape or other effects.
the intensity of such an influence. Symbol: F, f

any influence or agency analogous to physical force: social forces.

binding power, as of a contract.

Baseball. force play.

value; significance; meaning.

Billiards. a stroke in which the cue ball is forcibly struck directly below the center in such a manner as to cause it to stop abruptly, bound back, or roll off to one side after hitting the object ball.

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

to compel, constrain, or oblige (oneself or someone) to do something: to force a suspect to confess.

to drive or propel against resistance: He forced his way through the crowd. They forced air into his lungs.

to bring about or effect by force.

to bring about of necessity or as a necessary result: to force a smile.

to put or impose (something or someone) forcibly on or upon a person: to force one's opinions on others.

to compel by force; overcome the resistance of: to force acceptance of something.

to obtain or draw forth by or as if by force; extort: to force a confession.

to enter or take by force; overpower: They forced the town after a long siege.

to break open (a door, lock, etc.).

to cause (plants, fruits, etc.) to grow or mature at an increased rate by artificial means.

to press, urge, or exert (an animal, person, etc.) to violent effort or to the utmost.

to use force upon.

to rape.

Baseball.

to cause (a base runner) to be put out by obliging the runner, as by a ground ball, to vacate a base and attempt to move to the next base in order to make room for another runner or the batter.
to cause (a base runner or run) to score, as by walking a batter with the bases full (often followed by in).

Cards.

to compel (a player) to trump by leading a suit of which the player has no cards.
to compel a player to play (a particular card).
to compel (a player) to play so as to make known the strength of the hand.

Photography.

to develop (a print or negative) for longer than usual in order to increase density or bring out details.
to bring out underexposed parts of (a print or negative) by adding alkali to the developer.

Archaic. to give force to; strengthen; reinforce.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

to make one's way by force.

Origin of force

1250–1300; (noun) Middle English < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *fortia, derivative of Latin fortis strong; (v.) Middle English forcen < Anglo-French, Old French forcer, derivative of the noun

SYNONYMS FOR force

3. vigor. 4. compulsion, constraint. 6. efficacy, effectiveness, cogency, potency, validity. 18. coerce. 19. impel. 25. overcome; violate, ravish, rape.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR force ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR force

3. weakness. 6. impotence.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR force ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

force·a·ble, adjectiveforce·less, adjectiveforc·er, nounforc·ing·ly, adverb

in·ter·force, nouno·ver·force, nouno·ver·force, verb, o·ver·forced, o·ver·forc·ing.un·force·a·ble, adjectiveun·forc·ing, adjective

Can be confusedcoerce compel constrain force oblige

Synonym study

3. See strength.

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

Examples from the Web for forced

A spokesman for Lewisham council said last year that it would be forced to act if the family returned to Britain.
Britain May Spy on Preschoolers Searching for Potential Jihadis|Nico Hines|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
One is forced to ask, what on earth was Andrew doing hanging out with scantily clad teenagers?
Buckingham Palace Disputes Sex Allegations Against Prince ‘Randy Andy’|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
However, intellectual honesty is the first thing to go when you are forced to constantly pander to your base.
Rush Limbaugh’s Fear of a Black James Bond|Dean Obeidallah|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the more she is forced to recount, the more her grasp of reality slips, or heightens, depending on your point of view.
A Novel Nearly Impossible to Review|Nicholas Mancusi|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Better to be a beggar in freedom,” he cried out, “than to be forced into compromises against my conscience.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One mile from New Harmony, we were forced to alight from the carriage, as the horses would not draw us up a steep hill.
Travels Through North America, v. 1-2|Berhard Saxe-Weimar Eisenach
Arnold forced himself to accept the suggestion with some appearance of pleasure.
The Lighted Way|E. Phillips Oppenheim
I was so grateful that I was forced to go and sit down on the rug beside her.
The Return of the Soldier|Rebecca West
She would be forced to go to the Double R now, there was nothing else that she could do.
The Trail to Yesterday|Charles Alden Seltzer
Remarks of this kind I do not make from choice; they are forced upon me.
The Christian Church in These Islands before the Coming of Augustine|George Forrest Browne

British Dictionary definitions for forced

forced

/ (fɔːst) /

adjective

done because of force; compulsoryforced labour

false or unnaturala forced smile

due to an emergency or necessitya forced landing

physics caused by an external agencya forced vibration; a forced draught

Derived Formsforcedly (ˈfɔːsɪdlɪ), adverbforcedness, noun

force

/ (fɔːs) /

noun

strength or energy; might; powerthe force of the blow; a gale of great force

exertion or the use of exertion against a person or thing that resists; coercion

physics

a dynamic influence that changes a body from a state of rest to one of motion or changes its rate of motion. The magnitude of the force is equal to the product of the mass of the body and its acceleration
a static influence that produces an elastic strain in a body or system or bears weightSymbol: F

physics any operating influence that produces or tends to produce a change in a physical quantityelectromotive force; coercive force

intellectual, social, political, or moral influence or strengththe force of his argument; the forces of evil
a person or thing with such influencehe was a force in the land

vehemence or intensityhe spoke with great force

a group of persons organized for military or police functionsarmed forces

the force (sometimes capital) informal the police force

a group of persons organized for particular duties or tasksa workforce

criminal law violence unlawfully committed or threatened

philosophy logic that which an expression is normally used to achieveSee speech act, illocution, perlocution

in force

(of a law) having legal validity or binding effect
in great strength or numbers

join forces to combine strengths, efforts, etc

verb (tr)

to compel or cause (a person, group, etc) to do something through effort, superior strength, etc; coerce

to acquire, secure, or produce through effort, superior strength, etcto force a confession

to propel or drive despite resistanceto force a nail into wood

to break down or open (a lock, safe, door, etc)

to impose or inflicthe forced his views on them

to cause (plants or farm animals) to grow or fatten artificially at an increased rate

to strain or exert to the utmostto force the voice

to rape; ravish

cards

to compel (a player) to trump in order to take a trick
to compel a player by the lead of a particular suit to play (a certain card)
(in bridge) to induce (a bid) from one's partner by bidding in a certain way

force a smile to make oneself smile

force down to compel an aircraft to land

force the pace to adopt a high speed or rate of procedure

Derived Formsforceable, adjectiveforceless, adjectiveforcer, nounforcingly, adverb

Word Origin for force

C13: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin fortia (unattested), from Latin fortis strong

force

/ (fɔːs) /

noun

(in northern England) a waterfall

Word Origin for force

C17: from Old Norse fors

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 forced

forced

adj.

"not spontaneous or voluntary," 1570s, past participle adjective from force (v.). The flier's forced landing attested by 1917.

force

c.1300, "physical strength," from Old French force (12c.) "force, strength, courage, fortitude; violence, power, compulsion," from Vulgar Latin *fortia (cf. Spanish fuerza, Italian forza), noun use of neuter plural of Latin fortis "strong" (see fort). Meaning "body of armed men, army" first recorded late 14c. (also in Old French). Physics sense is from 1660s; force field attested by 1920.

force

c.1300, from Old French forcier "conquer by violence," from force (see force (n.)). Its earliest sense in English was "to ravish" (a woman); sense of "to compel, oblige" to do something is from c.1400. Related: Forced; forcing.

Medicine definitions for forced

force

[ fôrs ]

n.

The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power.

A vector quantity that tends to produce an acceleration of a body in the direction of its application.

Science definitions for forced

force

[ fôrs ]

Any of various factors that cause a body to change its speed, direction, or shape. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction. Contributions of force from different sources can be summed to give the net force at any given point.

Any of the four natural phenomena involving the interaction between particles of matter. From the strongest to the weakest, the four forces are the strong nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity.

Culture definitions for forced

force

In physics, something that causes a change in the motion of an object. The modern definition of force (an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration) was given by Isaac Newton in Newton's laws of motion. The most familiar unit of force is the pound. (See mechanics.)

Note

Gravity, and therefore weight, is a kind of force.

Idioms and Phrases with forced

force

In addition to the idioms beginning with force

force someone's hand
force to be reckoned with

also see:

brute force
driving force
in force
join forces
reckon with (force to be reckoned with)

forced

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of forced

force

noun

verb (used with object), forced, forc·ing.

verb (used without object), forced, forc·ing.

Origin of force

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for forced

forced

adjective

force

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for force

force

noun

Word Origin for force

forced

force

force

force

n.

force

force

Note

force