Added 9 October 2026
coerce
/kəʊˈɜːs/ verb
In Latin: coërceō Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about coerce at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
-
To use force, threat, fraud, or intimidation in an attempt to compel one to act against their will.
They coerced their children into going to the country park.
- To force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.
Origin
From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)