coerce

/koʊˈɝs/

//koʊˈɝs// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"coerce" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coerce” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,434. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,434
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coerce · coerce · English

coerce · rank #34,434 · 8 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,434
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH clawed

Nearest frequency peer: clawed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “coerce”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “coerce” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

coerce vs core
67% similar
coerce vs course
67% similar
coerce vs corrie
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for coerce
PropertyValue
Headwordcoerce
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/koʊˈɝs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#34,434
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “coerce”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).coercelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “clawed” (#34,433), “Coffey” (#34,435), “Clapham” (#34,432). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coerce” is #34,434. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around coerce (IPA /koʊˈɝs/), averb. Corpus frequency is #34,434 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for coerce, with forms such as "ccoerce", "ceorce", and "coecre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "core", "course", "corrie", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”). The correct English form is coerce, spelled C-O-E-R-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
  2. 2
    To use force, threat, fraud, or intimidation in an attempt to compel one to act against their will.
  3. 3
    To force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how coerce appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They coerced their children into going to the country park.
  2. A woman who freely engages in any of these activities, or who rejects anti-porn dogma, is thought to be coerced, brainwashed, an apologist of the patriarchy or a "social man." A woman who agrees that she has been coerced into one of these activities will be honored by anti-porners. The opinions of the rest of us are routinely discounted.

Etymology

From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”).

Synonyms

compelbullydragoonbludgeon

This word in other languages

coercer(Español)retenir(Français)erzwingen(Deutsch)coagir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoerce
  • ceorce
  • coecre
  • coercce
  • coerec
  • coerrce
  • corece
  • ocerce

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of coerce - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccoerce1ceorce2coecre2coercce1coerec2coerrce1corece2ocerce2
Edit distance from "coerce"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "coerce"?
"coerce" is spelled C-O-E-R-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /koʊˈɝs/.
What does "coerce" mean?
As a verb, "coerce" means: To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
What words are commonly confused with "coerce"?
"coerce" is commonly confused with "core", "course", "corrie". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coerce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coerce" is /koʊˈɝs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "coerce"?
From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "coerce", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clawed#34,433Coffey#34,435cometh#34,439Caspar#34,423

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

chock8 variantsdahlia8 variantsburgh8 variantsEtihad8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list