coercion

noun

co·​er·​cion kō-ˈər-zhən 

-shən

: the act, process, or power of coercing

They used coercion to obtain the confession.

Synonyms

• arm-twisting
• compulsion
• constraint
• duress
• force
• pressure

Examples of coercion in a Sentence

a promise obtained by coercion is never binding

Recent Examples on the Web

Hostile intelligence services are likely already at work trying to assess which Musk team members might be sloppy with their digital devices or vulnerable to entrapment or coercion. —James Goldgeier, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2025

Labor trafficking forces someone to work against their will through force, fraud or coercion. —Kendall Larson, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

Because whatever was happening behind the scenes—whether control, coercion, or complicity—what played out in public was something else: a spectacle designed to dominate the conversation. —Jessie Candlin, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025

Nevertheless, the disconcertingly exuberant Miliband exudes the confidence of a Soviet central planner of the high Stalinist era, convinced that determination, coercion, and the arc of history will overcome ... —Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cohercion, borrowed from Anglo-French cohercioun, borrowed from Late Latin coerctiōn-, coerctiō, by-form of Latin coercitiōn-, coercitiō, from coerci-, variant stem of coercēre "to coerce" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

coercion

noun

co·​er·​cion kō-ˈər-zhən, -shən 

: the use of express or implied threats of violence or reprisal (as discharge from employment) or other intimidating behavior that puts a person in immediate fear of the consequences in order to compel that person to act against his or her will

also : the defense that one acted under coercion see also defense, duress compare undue influence