# coercion

> English word · Noun · IPA /koʊˈɜːʃən/ · frequency rank #20,313

## Definitions
1. Actual or threatened force for the purpose of compelling action by another person; the act of coercing.
2. Use of physical or moral force to compel a person to do something, or to abstain from doing something, thereby depriving that person of the exercise of free will.
3. A specific instance of coercing.
4. Conversion of a value of one data type to a value of another data type.
5. The process by which the meaning of a word or other linguistic element is reinterpreted to match the grammatical context.
6. The initiation or threat of conflict; aggression.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English cohercioun, from Old French cohercion, from Latin coërcitiō (“magisterial coercion”), from past participle coercitus of coërceō (“to restrain, coerce”), from co- (“with”) + arceō (“to shut in, enclose”); see coerce.

## Easily confused with
- **coercive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coercion-vs-coercive)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ccoercion`, `ceorcion`, `coecrion`, `coerccion`, `coercino`, `coercionn`, `coercoin`, `coericon`, `coerrcion`, `corecion`, `ocercion`

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