ENGLISH
REFERENCE

coerced

adj.
C1 Advanced US //koʊˈɝst// UK //kˌəʊˈɜːst// co·erced

adj. forced to do something that you do not want to do. You feel this way when someone uses threats or power to make you act against your will.

adj. compelled by force, intimidation, or authority to act against one's will. Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'feel' or 'be'.


SIMPLE

He felt coerced into signing the contract.

CONTEXTUAL

The witness later claimed she was coerced by the police into giving a false statement.

COMPLEX

Legal scholars argue that a confession obtained from a coerced suspect is fundamentally unreliable and should be inadmissible in a court of law.

Synonyms
Usage

Often followed by the preposition 'into' plus a gerund or noun phrase.

Pitfall

he was coerced to signinghe was coerced into signingWhen followed by an action, this word typically requires the preposition 'into' and a gerund, rather than an infinitive.

© 2026 English Reference