coerce

English

Etymology

From Latin coercere (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arcere (“to inclose, confine, keep off”); see arcade, arcane, ark.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /koʊˈɝs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəʊˈɜːs/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s

Verb

coerce (third-person singular simple present coerces, present participle coercing, simple past and past participle coerced)

1. (transitive) To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
2. (transitive) To use force, threat, fraud, or intimidation in an attempt to compel one to act against their will.

   They coerced their children into going to the country park.

3. (transitive, computing) To force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.

Synonyms

• compel
• bully
• dragoon

Derived terms

Derived terms

• coercee
• coercer
• coercible
• coercion

Translations

to restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb

• Dutch: onderdrukken (nl)
• French: retenir (fr)
• German: erzwingen (de)
• Russian: уде́рживать (ru) impf (udérživatʹ), удержа́ть (ru) pf (uderžátʹ)
• Turkish: mecbur etmek (tr), zorlamak (tr)

to use force, threat, or intimidation in attempt to compel one to act against their will

• Arabic: أَجْبَرَ (ar) (ʔajbara), اِضْطَرَّ (iḍṭarra)
• Armenian: հարկադրել (hy) (harkadrel)
• Belarusian: прымуша́ць impf (prymušácʹ), прыму́сіць pf (prymúsicʹ), змуша́ць impf (zmušácʹ), зму́сіць pf (zmúsicʹ)
• Bulgarian: принужда́вам (bg) impf (prinuždávam), прину́дя pf (prinúdja), заста́вям (bg) impf (zastávjam), заста́вя (bg) pf (zastávja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 強迫／强迫 (zh) (qiǎngpò, qiángpò)

• Czech: nutit (cs) impf, donutit (cs) pf, přinutit (cs) pf
• Dutch: dwingen (nl), afdwingen (nl), forceren (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pakottaa (fi), painostaa (fi)
• French: forcer (fr), contraindre (fr)
• German: zwingen (de)
• Greek: αναγκάζω (el) (anagkázo), εξαναγκάζω (el) (exanagkázo)
• Italian: costringere (it)
• Japanese: 強いる (ja) (しいる, shiiru)
• Korean: 강요하다 (ko) (gang'yohada)
• Latin: coercere
• Maori: uruhi
• Mongolian: албадах (mn) (albadax)
• Norwegian: tvinge
• Polish: zmuszać (pl) impf, zmusić (pl) pf
• Portuguese: coagir (pt), forçar (pt)
• Russian: заставля́ть (ru) impf (zastavljátʹ), заста́вить (ru) pf (zastávitʹ), принужда́ть (ru) impf (prinuždátʹ), прину́дить (ru) pf (prinúditʹ)
• Slovak: nútiť impf, donútiť pf, prinútiť pf
• Spanish: coercer (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: zorlamak (tr), mecbur etmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: приму́шувати (uk) impf (prymúšuvaty), приму́сити pf (prymúsyty), зму́шувати impf (zmúšuvaty), зму́сити pf (zmúsyty)

to force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: forceren (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pakottaa (fi)
• French: forcer (fr)
• German: konvertieren (de), erzwingen (de)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} לכפות (likhpot)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} coaccionar (es)

Further reading

• “coerce”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “coerce”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Latin

Verb

coercē

1. second-person singular present active imperative of coerceō

Spanish

Verb

coerce

1. inflection of coercer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative