coerce
/koʊˈɝs/verb
coerce is spelled C-O-E-R-C-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, coerce means “To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in coerce?
| Letters | 6: C-O-E-R-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is coerce?
Coerce appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce coerce?
- UK /kəʊˈɜːs/
- US /koʊˈɝs/
- Australia /kəʉˈɜːs/
Coerce has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-coerce.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with coerce?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as coerce from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of coerce
- coerces present, singular, he/she/it
- coercing participle, present
- coerced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does coerce mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
- 2
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
To force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Coerce in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | retenir , forcer, contraindre |
| German | erzwingen , zwingen , konvertieren |
| Spanish | coercer , coaccionar |
| Portuguese | coagir, forçar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does coerce come from?
From Latin coërceō (“to surround, encompass, restrain, control, curb”), from co- (“together”) + arceō (“to inclose, confine, keep off”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).