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Added 9 October 2026

coercion

/kəʊˈɜːʃən/ noun

In Latin: coactus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about coercion at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Actual or threatened force for the purpose of compelling action by another person; the act of coercing.
Use of physical or moral force to compel a person to do something, or to abstain from doing something, thereby depriving that person of the exercise of free will.
A specific instance of coercing.

Origin

Inherited from Middle English cohercioun, from Old French cohercion, from Latin coërcitiō (“magisterial coercion”), from past participle coercitus of coërceō (“to restrain, coerce”), from co- (“with”) + arceō (“to shut in, enclose”); see coerce.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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