# coerce

> English word · Verb · IPA /koʊˈɝs/ · frequency rank #34,434

## Definitions
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.
3. To force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.

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

## Easily confused with
- **core** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coerce-vs-core)
- **course** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coerce-vs-course)
- **corrie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coerce-vs-corrie)
- **commerce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coerce-vs-commerce)
- **coercive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coerce-vs-coercive)
- **coarse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coarse-vs-coerce)
- **Cherie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cherie-vs-coerce)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ccoerce`, `ceorce`, `coecre`, `coercce`, `coerec`, `coerrce`, `corece`, `ocerce`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/coerce