duress
- 01 C2 Proficiency
n.very rough or cruel treatment.
n.harsh or severe treatment; imprisonment or constraint.
Simple“The prisoners were kept in duress for many months in the cold tower.”
In context“The historical accounts detail the duress suffered by the captives during their long winter of isolation and meager rations.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to force or pressure someone into doing something.
v.to subject someone to duress or coercion.
Simple“The manager tried to duress the employees into working extra hours without pay.”
In context“The prosecution argued that the defendant had attempted to duress the witness into changing her testimony through repeated late-night phone calls.”
Synonymscoercepressurize
“Khan might have been contractually obliged to keep recording with Rufus, despite her solo success, but 1979’s Masterjam doesn’t feel like an album made under duress.”
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French duresse, from Latin duritia (“hardness”), from durus (“hard”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.