Make Your Point > Archived Issues > COERCE

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pronounce COERCE: Say it "ko WORSE." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: From The Godfather: In other words, "I'll tell him what to do--and if he doesn't, I'll have him killed." That's coercion. Or intimidation, or compulsion, or browbeating, or just plain force. If someone is coercing you, they're basically forcing you to do something: they're making it im_____ive that you do it, absolutely necessary that you do. Can you recall that word with the blanks? It comes from a Latin one meaning "to command." It's also a grammar term: im_____ive forms of verbs give orders or commands, as in "Give Johnny the role in that movie. Do it. Or else." They're very coercive. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: Our word "coerce" has been around since the 1600s. It has Latin roots that literally mean "to confine: to enclose together." Because the Latin coercēre took a detour through French on its way to English, the meaning changed a little bit. In English, today, to coerce someone is to use your own power or authority to force that person to do something. grammatical bits: Part of speech: verb, the transitive kind: "They coerced him into signing the contract;" "She didn't want to join the game, but they coerced her." Other common forms: coerced, coercing, coercion, coercive, coercively, coercible.  how to use it: This word is usually harsh, serious, and formal. But you can use it for humor and exaggeration, too: "A second brownie? Sure, you've coerced me." Coercion is always harsh and pushy, but it's not physical. "Eat this brownie, or else" is coercion. Pushing brownies into someone's mouth isn't; that's physical force. However, if you're joking around and exaggerating, you can use the word "coerce" to describe physical manipulation--see the example below from Scientific American. In general, you talk about people coercing other people, often into doing things. "They coerced us into lying." "He coerced the witness into staying silent."  It's less common, but instead of saying "coerce them into doing it," you can say "coerce them to do it," as in "They coerced us to lie." You can also talk about people coercing others into states of being: "They coerced us into dishonesty." "He coerced the witness into silence." So far we've seen that people get coerced to lie, to stay silent, and to take a second helping of dessert. You might also talk about people getting coerced to steal, to plead guilty, to buy something they don't need, to protect a dangerous secret, to retract their earlier accounts or accusations, or to watch both Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! and Return of the Killer Tomatoes! in one sitting.* *Actually, it was love, not coercion, that made me do that. examples: "The students were coerced into selling drugs or stealing in exchange for housing."    — Jude Joffe-Block, The Guardian, 27 April 2020 "Klein has extended a mechanical arm from Deep Rover and is attempting to grab some of what looks like carbonate rocks on the seafloor. Operating a mechanical arm is difficult, and the work is slow going... We munch on chips and cheer when Klein manages to coerce a rock into the sample bucket; and we boo when samples slip through the mechanical fingers and are swallowed by the blackness below."    — James Nestor, Scientific American, 12 February 2018 has this page helped you understand "coerce"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "coerce" without saying "impel" or "intimidate." try it out: In A Gamble with Life, Silas K. Hocking wrote: "Madeline...was not the kind of person to be coerced. She might be led in many directions, but no one could drive her. At the least suggestion of the lash, she would jib and back, and nothing short of physical force would move her a step forward." Talk about someone you know who, like Madeline, cannot be coerced. (Maybe that person is you? If you can't think of anyone you know, try a fictional character, or a famous person.) How does this person stand so strong against threats, bribes, bullying, and other methods of coercion? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. This month, our game is "Caption These!" In each issue this month, caption the images below (A, B, and C) by matching them to the vocabulary words they illustrate (1, 2, and 3). Need a closer look? Give the images a click. And, if you can, explain the exact meaning of each word. I'll share the answers in the following issue. Good luck! From the previous issue: Answers: A: Rorschach test, B: skunkworks, C: triptych. (To review a word, give it a click.) Try these today:  1: rotund 2: Byzantine 3: gilded review this word: 1. A near opposite of COERCIVE is A. GENTLE. B. ARTISTIC. C. PRINTED. 2. Wikipedia lists "coercion" as an example of _____. A. a logical fallacy B. voter intimidation C. the impacts of tourism Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. B a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.