INDEX:
1. to force someone to do something
2. to force someone do something by using threats or violence
3. to be forced to do something because of a bad situation
4. to force someone to accept something they do not want
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ MUST/DON'T HAVE TO
↑ THREATEN
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1. to force someone to do something
▷ force /fɔːʳs/ [transitive verb]
▪ You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Nobody’s forcing you.
force somebody to do something
▪ Women’s organizations are trying to force the government to appoint more women to senior positions.
force somebody into doing something
▪ Her parents are trying to force her into marrying a man she hardly knows.
force somebody into something
▪ I had never thought of buying an insurance policy, and I wasn’t going to be forced into it by some young salesman.
force somebody out of
▪ Eddie feels that he was forced out of his job in order to make way for a younger man.
▷ make /meɪk/ [transitive verb]
to force someone to do something that they do not want to do. Make is less formal than force :
▪ I really didn’t want to go, but she made me.
make somebody do something
▪ I wanted to watch the film, but Dad made me do my homework.
▪ Karen made him promise never to discuss the subject again.
▷ put pressure on /ˌpʊt ˈpreʃər ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to keep trying to persuade someone to do something, for example by saying that it is their duty or that it will help other people :
put pressure on somebody to do something
▪ Our parents were putting pressure on us to get married.
▪ Advertising puts pressure on parents to work long hours, in order to buy things that their children don’t need.
▷ pressurize also pressurise British /pressure American /ˈpreʃəraɪz, ˈpreʃəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to try to make someone do something by persuading them very strongly and making them feel that they should do it :
▪ I’ll get this done as soon as I can -- just don’t pressure me, OK!
▪ If she feels you’re trying to pressurize her, she won’t do it.
pressurize/pressure somebody into doing something
▪ School children are often pressurized into studying very hard from an early age by their parents.
▪ The committee pressured him into resigning.
pressure somebody to do something
▪ Her boyfriend is pressuring her to have an abortion.
▷ push /pʊʃ/ [transitive verb]
to strongly encourage someone to do something :
push somebody to do something
▪ My parents keep pushing me to get a good job.
push somebody into doing something
▪ Don’t let them push you into a making a decision before you’re ready.
push somebody into something
▪ Are you sure you want to marry me? I don’t want to push you into anything.
▷ browbeat /ˈbraʊbiːt/ [transitive verb]
to force someone to do what you want them to do by repeatedly asking them to do it until they finally agree :
▪ The salesman tried browbeating me but it didn’t work.
browbeat somebody into (doing) something
▪ The miners were browbeaten into working in a part of the mine that the company knew to be dangerous.
▪ I really didn’t want to make this speech -- I was browbeaten into it by my colleagues.
▷ emotional blackmail /ɪˌməʊʃ ə nəl ˈblækmeɪl/ [uncountable noun]
an attempt to force someone to do something, by making them feel guilty for not doing it :
▪ She’s always using emotional blackmail and playing on other people’s feelings.
▪ Any relationship that has to depend on emotional blackmail can’t be a healthy one.
▷ be breathing down somebody’s neck /biː ˌbriːðɪŋ daʊn somebodyˈs ˈnek/ [verb phrase] informal
if someone is breathing down your neck about something, they keep asking you to do it in order to make you do it sooner :
▪ I’m already really busy today, and now Paul’s breathing down my neck saying he wants the Paris deal completed.
have somebody breathing down your neck
▪ We’d better start sending out those letters soon -- I’ve had the sales manager breathing down my neck about it all week.
▷ be on somebody’s back /biː ɒn somebodyˈs ˈbæk/ [verb phrase] informal
to be trying to make someone do something they do not want to do, especially by telling them several times to do it :
▪ Nick knew that the coach would be on his back if he missed another training session.
be on sb’s back about
▪ Aunt Mimi was always on his back about him ‘wasting time playing that silly guitar’.
2. to force someone do something by using threats or violence
▷ force /fɔːʳs/ [transitive verb]
▪ If you don’t comply I’m afraid we’ll have to force you.
force somebody to do something
▪ Thieves had tied him up and forced him to lie on the floor.
▪ All the hostages were forced to hand over their passports.
force somebody into (doing) something
▪ She claimed she was forced to take part in the robbery by her husband.
▷ make /meɪk/ [transitive verb]
to force someone to do something by using violence or threats :
▪ I didn’t want to take part in the attack but the soldiers made me.
make somebody do something
▪ They made sales staff open the safe.
be made to do something
▪ The couple were made to hand over all their money and jewellery.
▷ coerce /kəʊˈɜːʳs/ [transitive verb] written
to force someone to do something that they do not want to do by threatening that something bad might happen to them if they do not do it :
▪ Ray withdrew his confession, saying that he had been coerced by the police.
coerce somebody into doing something
▪ The mine owners coerced the workers into going back to work, by threatening to close down the mines completely.
▪ Officials coerced peasants into voting for the government candidates.
coerce somebody to do something
▪ The company paid the workers the minimum rate of $4.86 an hour, but coerced some to give back half their pay in cash.
coercion /kəʊˈɜːʳʃ ə nǁ-ʒ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ When peaceful methods of persuasion had failed, the government tried using coercion.
▷ compel /kəmˈpel/ [transitive verb] formal
to make someone do something by using force or official power :
compel somebody to do something
▪ All the young men in the area were compelled to work in the quarries and coal mines.
▪ The attorney general has the right to compel witnesses to appear in court.
▷ bully /ˈbʊli/ [intransitive/transitive verb] informal
to force someone to do something by shouting at them, treating them badly, or using threats :
▪ Don’t let the salesman bully you -- it’s your choice.
bully somebody into doing something
▪ If you try and bully him into giving you the money he’s sure to say no -- you should try and persuade him gently.
bully somebody into something
▪ Ben didn’t want to study law, but his father bullied him into it by threatening to cut off his allowance.
▷ blackmail /ˈblækmeɪl/ [transitive verb]
to force someone to give you money or do what you want, by threatening to tell embarrassing secrets about them :
▪ Gina tried to blackmail him, by threatening to tell his wife about their affair.
blackmail somebody into doing something
▪ The FBI blackmailed her into informing on the other members of the gang.
▷ use force /ˌjuːz ˈfɔːʳs/ [verb phrase]
if someone uses force, they hit, shoot, or use other forms of violence against people in order to make them do something or stop them from doing something :
▪ The regime was quite willing to use force and terror against its enemies.
▪ The law permits every citizen to use reasonable force to defend themselves or their property.
use force against
▪ The police have recently had to defend their policy of using force against rioters.
▷ strongarm tactics/methods /ˈstrɒŋɑːʳm ˌtæktɪks, ˌmeθədzǁˈstrɔːŋ-/ [plural noun]
violence or the threat of violence, used to force someone to do something :
▪ The police have been accused of using strongarm tactics when breaking up strikes and public demonstrations.
use strongarm tactics/methods to do something
▪ More and more credit companies are using strongarm methods to collect debts.
▷ under duress /ʌndəʳ djʊˈresǁ-dʊˈres/ [adverb]
if someone does something under duress, they only agree to do it because they have been threatened, not because they want to do it :
▪ The defendants claimed that their confessions were made under duress.
▪ Judge Mershon ruled that the agreement was signed under duress, and was therefore null and void.
3. to be forced to do something because of a bad situation
▷ force /fɔːʳs/ [transitive verb]
force somebody to do something
▪ They had so little money that they were forced to sell the farm.
▪ They were halfway up the mountain, when the weather became so bad that they were forced to turn back.
force somebody into something
▪ Here, girls are often forced into prostitution because they have no other means of earning money.
▷ drive /draɪv/ [transitive verb]
if something, especially someone else’s behaviour drives someone to do something, it has such a bad effect on them that it forces them to take extreme action :
drive somebody to do something
▪ At the trial, she claimed that years of abuse from her violent husband had driven her to kill him.
drive somebody to despair/desperation etc
▪ Many farmers claim that they have been driven to desperation by the latest blow to the industry.
drive somebody to drink
make someone drink alcohol all the time in order to forget their situation
▪ This job’s enough to drive anyone to drink!
drive somebody into doing something
▪ Her mother’s continual nagging drove her into running away from home.
▷ have no choice/option /ˌhæv nəʊ ˈtʃɔɪs, ˈɒpʃ ə nǁ-ˈɑːp-/ [verb phrase]
to be forced to do something because it is the only thing you can do even though you may not want to do it :
▪ We had to leave them there. We had no choice.
▪ Firefighters said they had to knock down the remaining walls - they have no other option.
leave somebody with no choice/option but to do something
▪ You leave me with no option but to resign.
leave somebody with no choice/ option
▪ The business was failing, and in the end we had to close it down. We were left with no choice.
▷ compel somebody to do something /kəmpel somebody tə ˈduː something/ [verb phrase] formal
if a bad situation compels someone to do something they do not want to do, they are forced to do it because they feel there is nothing else they can do :
▪ The high cost of materials will compel manufacturers to increase their prices.
▪ These people are compelled by poverty to commit crime.
▷ be condemned to /biː kənˈdemd tuː/ [verb phrase]
to be forced to accept a very unhappy situation because there is nothing else you can do :
be condemned to do something
▪ The rich lived in luxury while thousands were condemned to live a life of poverty and despair.
be condemned to something
▪ The island was condemned to centuries of colonial rule.
▪ The accident condemned her to a lifetime of pain and disability.
4. to force someone to accept something they do not want
▷ force something on /ˈfɔːʳs something ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
▪ He thinks that just because he’s the head of department he can force his opinions on everybody.
▪ You shouldn’t blame your father -- the decision was forced on him by his situation.
▪ Elaine kept forcing drinks on him all evening, and he wondered if she was trying to seduce him.
▷ impose /ɪmˈpəʊz/ [transitive verb]
if you impose your ideas and beliefs on other people, you try to force them to have the same ideas and beliefs as you :
▪ Within days of being appointed office manager he had imposed his own working methods.
impose something on somebody
▪ Teachers should try to avoid imposing their own beliefs on their students.
imposition /ˌɪmpəˈzɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ There has been widespread protest against the imposition of religious teaching in schools.
▷ inflict something on /ɪnˈflɪkt something ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to force someone to accept something that causes them harm or suffering :
▪ As time progressed, the king inflicted harsher and harsher measures on the people.
▪ The new policy means that even higher bills will be inflicted on the taxpayer.
▷ foist something on /ˈfɔɪst (something) ɒn/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to get rid of a thing or piece of work that you do not want by giving it to someone else :
▪ It’s no use trying to foist your work on me.
foist something off on to somebody
▪ He’s always trying to foist the children off on to me while he goes out and enjoys himself.