coerce
- 01 C1 Advanced
to make someone do something by using force or threats.
to compel an individual to act against their will through the use of force, threats, or intimidation.
Simple“The witness claimed that the gang tried to coerce him into lying to the police.”
In context“The defendant argued that he had been coerced into signing the confession under extreme psychological pressure from the investigators.”
UsageTakes a direct object followed by 'into' and a gerund or noun phrase.
PitfallThey coerced him to sign the paper. They coerced him into signing the paper.The verb 'coerce' is typically followed by the preposition 'into' and a gerund (-ing form).
- 02 C2 Proficiency
to use the law or authority to stop someone from doing something.
to restrain or repress an action or person through the application of authority or legal force.
Simple“The new laws were designed to coerce the illegal trade of stolen goods.”
In context“The state sought to coerce the rising tide of dissent by implementing strict curfews and heavy fines for public gatherings.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to force a piece of computer data to change into a different type.
to force a value of one data type to be treated as or converted to another data type.
Simple“The program will coerce the number into a string so it can be displayed.”
In context“JavaScript will often coerce a boolean value into a number when performing arithmetic operations.”
UsageOften used in the context of 'type coercion' in programming languages.
“They’re coerced by their mother into performing religious music in the 90s, while wearing clothes that look as if they’re from the 1920s.”
“In the second case, a court heard how Dean Holmes, 43, had coerced a woman to open an OnlyFans account to make money.”
From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.