COERCED Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

coerced 1 of 2

adjective

as in unwilling

not made or done willingly or by choice coerced participation that couldn't last

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

coerced

2 of 2

verb

past tense of coerce

as in forced

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure was coerced into signing the document

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of coerced

Adjective

Human rights groups have accused Iranian authorities of denying defendants due process, relying on coerced confessions and carrying out executions after unfair trials. — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026 Such coerced displacement did not — and could not — extinguish rights guaranteed by a still-valid agreement. — Shaun Chapoose, Denver Post, 20 May 2026 Russia has targeted the children through coerced adoption and family separation, forcing them to speak the Russian language and take on its cultural identity and customs — what’s known as Russification. — Shahrzad Rasekh, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026 The third would allow survivors of coerced debt to formally challenge such obligations with a creditor, and the last would create a program to help survivors get home security to protect themselves from future harm. — Lauren Linder, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026 And despite widespread reporting about coerced conscription in Russia, Ukraine has engaged in the same practice, with some new recruits sent to the front without adequate training. — Olivier Kempf, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 Arcangela Tarabotti, a seventeenth-century Venetian nun who was put into a convent against her will, wrote a critique of coerced enclosure that begins by eviscerating the idea that men are by nature superior to women. — Chandler Fritz, The New York Review of Books, 21 Mar. 2026 Deradicalization is equally vital—not as a coerced reeducation, but as part of a healing process that encompasses Israelis as well as Palestinians. — Samer Sinijlawi, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025 Prosecutors retried one of the men, John Kogut – who had made a coerced confession to the murder – but he was acquitted. — Lauren Del Valle, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025

Verb

Her confession to murdering her 2-year-old daughter was coerced, and the district attorney who prosecuted her case was later convicted of bribery, extortion and other crimes. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 Terry Kay liked to tell the story of how he was coerced into writing his first novel by Pat Conroy, who told his literary agent Kay had written a brilliant manuscript. — Suzanne Van Atten, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026 Unlike an appeal, the post-conviction process allows a petitioner to introduce new information, such as new allegations or evidence that their attorney coerced or threatened them. — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2026 Defense attorneys maintained that Tyler Williams was coerced by his older brother, who was believed to be the driving force behind the attacks. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The Cornell case has garnered nationwide attention over Jane Doe’s disturbing allegations, which include that she was coerced with alcohol and drugs before being raped multiple times at the Chi Phi frat house. — Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 13 Oct. 2026 Doe alleges in her lawsuit that she was coerced into using drugs before the assault. — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 6 Oct. 2026 They were coerced into signing a non-disclosure agreement that prevented them from ever exposing the details of what happened, and at whose hands. — Gretchen Carlson, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 Many members of the public were coerced into voting a certain way by reading the news. — Eli Grober, New Yorker, 1 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coerced

Adjective

Traceability isn’t something being thrust on unwilling cotton suppliers, a new report found.

— Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
The Houthis, still formally in a truce with Riyadh, appeared unwilling to aid their Iranian partners.

— Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of unwilling

Verb

In the southern port city of Marseille, some shops and a municipal police station were damaged, while protesters briefly forced their way into the lobby of City Hall.

— SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
Performers weren’t spared either, with several forced to perform in the rain without covering for both artists and their equipment.

— Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of forced

Adjective

Harris also helped shape the movie’s imagination sequences, pushing Pixar’s artists toward more spontaneous, painterly images rather than the studio’s usual meticulous realism.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Johnson’s initial connection with EY CEO and Global Chair Janet Truncale was a spontaneous one.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of spontaneous

Verb

Her mother, Betsy Lopez, spoke to CBS News Sacramento in June and said she was compelled to advocate for safer streets after her daughter's death.

— Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
To read even a downmarket newspaper, especially one from the mid-twentieth century before newspapers were compelled to compete with TV, is often to be surprised at the serious-mindedness of its journalism.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of compelled

Adjective

The task for the printmakers, led by Erik Hougen, Jeremy Ruiz, and Tom Smith, was to reproduce the jottings, corrections, and accidental smears on Safdie’s notecard as faithfully as possible, and also to scale it up in size.

— Bruce Handy, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Good news for Boeing, but could this accidental monopoly be a potential disaster waiting to happen?

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of accidental

Verb

That should come as no surprise; NASA is, after all, part of the executive branch, and the agency is obliged to abide by executive orders.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
On his way out, Council obliged Stokes’ request and let out a few barks of his own.

— Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of obliged

Verb

The mayor’s decision to stop her, the judge found, violated constitutional protections that government officials were already obligated to respect.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
The foreign customer is funding the entire amount, with the money obligated at the time of the award.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of obligated

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“Coerced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coerced. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of coerced

adjective

verb

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