coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
| \ kō-ˈər-siv
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Definition of coercive
: serving or intended to coerce
coercive power coercive measures
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Examples of coercive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Classical liberalism was about restraining the role of coercive government in human affairs, not reducing human affairs to a single explanation, purpose, or pursuit. — John Hood, National Review, "New Nationalists Make Three Big Bets," 28 Aug. 2019 Activists questioned the need for such protection and argued that the presence of police has often had a coercive effect. — Benjamin Oreskes, latimes.com, "L.A. must fix its process of clearing homeless camps, activists say — without LAPD's help," 27 June 2019 Idly, some of us also wondered, after the scandal over Harvey Weinstein’s clearly coercive alleged behavior emerged, whether the accusing finger might eventually turn on women known to have sought out powerful men to advance their careers. — Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, "Hollywood vs. #MeToo and Streaming," 28 Dec. 2018 Before that, Iranian parliamentary elections in 2020 may see a surge of support for the country’s anti-diplomacy hard-liners, a camp that has been only strengthened by the White House’s coercive tactics. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "A future Democratic president may be unable to save the Iran deal," 28 June 2019 Yet nearly 10 years later, brand-name manufacturers are using a combination of coercive, anticompetitive tactics to box out biosimilars and maintain their monopolies. — Denny Lanfear, WSJ, "How Big Pharma Suppresses ‘Biosimilars’," 23 June 2019 In 2015, a new law was introduced in the U.K. which criminalized coercive or controlling behavior. — Kerensa Cadenas, EW.com, "Kate Davies' In at the Deep End tells the truth about coming out later in life," 1 July 2019 During the Korean War, American intelligence operatives studied the possibility that American prisoners of war had been forcibly converted to the Communist cause by a combination of torture, coercive interrogation, and psychoactive drugs. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "There’s No Such Thing as ‘Brainwashing’," 16 June 2019 Those blockbuster grand gestures — proposing on a Jumbotron, or during a girlfriend’s marathon, as one guy did recently — are now often seen as coercive or spotlight-stealing. — Lisa Bonos, Washington Post, "Welcome to Rom Com Fest, a haven for fans who never stopped believing in happily ever after," 2 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coercive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for coercive
coercive
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of coercive
formal
: using force or threats to make someone do something : using coercion
See the full definition for coercive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
| \ kō-ˈər-siv
\
\
Legal Definition of coercive
1
: serving or intended to coerce
2
: resulting from coercion
to protect women from coercive intimacy— Kimberle Crenshaw
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