I. ˈfō(ə)rs, ˈfȯ(ə)rs, ˈfōəs, ˈfȯ(ə)s noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French force, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin fortia, from Latin fortis strong + -ia -y — more at fort
1.
a. : strength or energy especially of an exceptional degree : active power : vigor
b. : physical strength or vigor of a living being
drained of all force by his mighty effort
c. : power to affect in physical relations or conditions
the force of the blow was somewhat spent when it reached him
the rising force of the wind
d. : moral or mental strength especially when manifested as power of effective action (as in the overcoming of opposition)
the force of his character had the impact of a physical pressure
a man of great force and determination
e. : power or capacity to sway, convince, or impose obligation : validity , effect
the force of his arguments
who could resist the force of such an appeal
often : legal efficacy : operative effect
that law is still in force
an agreement having the force of law
2.
a. : might or greatness especially of a prince or state ; often : strength in or capacity for waging war
the force of this lord was so great that no other would contest his right to rule
b.
(1) : a group of individuals occupied with or ready for combat
the entire force of the fortress
usually : a body of troops, ships, airplanes, or combinations thereof especially when assigned to a particular military purpose or necessity
took a small force of infantrymen and searched the village
the enemy assembled a great force for the spring offensive
— see task force
(2) forces plural : the whole military strength (as of a nation) : armed forces
c. : a body of persons available for or serving a particular end
a large available labor force
often : a more or less organized group or staff having a common responsibility or task
a conscientious police force
the plantation force took a half-holiday
3.
a. : power, violence, compulsion, or constraint exerted upon or against a person or thing
conciliation may succeed where force completely fails
those who will not respond to kindness must yield to force
b. : strength or power of any degree that is exercised without justification or contrary to law upon a person or thing
c. : violence or such threat or display of physical aggression toward a person as reasonably inspires fear of pain, bodily harm, or death
4. dialect England : a large part, quantity, or number
5. : an agency or influence (as a push or pull) that if applied to a free body results chiefly in an acceleration of the body and sometimes in elastic deformation and other effects (as from overcoming cohesion or adhesion or sustaining weight)
6. : the quality of conveying impressions intensely in writing or speech (as by vividness, cogency, or passion)
a stimulating essay marked by force and cogency
7. : an act (as of misdirection) or course (as of play) that forces the response of another (as in a play in a game) into a predetermined pattern
sometimes a force is useful for locating honors in the opponents' hands
8.
a. : the upper hollow embossing die : counter V 10b
b. : a specially formed bar or plate attached to the underside of the slide of a punch press chiefly for use in riveting and seaming
9. : a billiards stroke made by striking a cue ball hard and just below the center so that it rebounds or stops sharply or goes off at a desired angle after striking the object ball
Synonyms:
violence , compulsion , coercion , duress , constraint , restraint : force is a general term for exercise of strength or power, especially physical, to overcome resistance
there is the force used by parents when … they compel their children to act or refrain from acting in some particular way. There is the force used by attendants in an asylum when they try to prevent a maniac from hurting himself or others. There is the force used by the police when they control a crowd … there is the force used in war — Aldous Huxley
violence is applicable to dynamic power showing great strength, power, intensity, fury, destructiveness
a wild nightmare of violence, noise, confusion, and pain — T.B.Costain
force must not be confused with violence … the completely successful use of force implies the absence of violence, because those against whom force is used recognize the futility of resistance — P.M.Sweezy
compulsion is applicable to any power or agency that compels, that makes an individual follow a will not his own
compulsion exists where a being is inevitably determined by an external cause — Frank Thilly
masterpieces I read under compulsion without the faintest interest — Bertrand Russell
coercion often suggests unethical, unjust compulsion, as by threat or deception
a promise obtained by coercion is hardly binding
the amiable trait in his character of an intense dislike to coercion — G.B.Shaw
duress may suggest a stronger coercion in which the compelling is accomplished by confinement or violence, or dire threats of confinement or violence
our duress, his arrogance, our awful servitude — Edna S.V. Millay
a fake declaration of love by the heroine under duress — Dyneley Hussey
constraint may apply to the action of any agency enjoining unwilling performance or avoidance of an action
the constraint of society had banished his former expression of easy good humor — G.B.Shaw
prose is memorable speech set down without constraint of meter — A.T.Quiller-Couch
restraint suggests an agency which checks free activity or expression or an atmosphere in which such restriction is likely or common
long years of abstinence and restraint and an avoidance of physical contacts and emotional responses before marriage — A.C.Kinsey
they rushed into freedom and enjoyment, into the unfettered use of their powers, with an energy proportional to their previous restraint — G.L.Dickinson
Synonym: see in addition power .
•
- by force of
- in force
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English forcen, from Middle French forcier, forcer to attack, rape, compel, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin fortiare, from Latin fortis strong
transitive verb
1. : to do violence to ; especially : rape
a maiden forced by the intruder
2. : to constrain or compel by physical, moral, or intellectual means or by the exigencies of circumstances
forced by injuries to stay at home
hunger forced him to forget his scruples
such evidence forces conviction on the mind
financial weakness forces many small businesses to the wall
3. : to make, cause, make to be, or accomplish through natural or logical necessity
forces the diameters to be equal — Josiah Royce
4.
a. : to press, drive, attain to, or effect as indicated against resistance or inertia by some positive compelling force or action
force your way through
much of the previously unobtainable oil is forced to the surface — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
basic problems forced on us by the age in which we live — J.B.Conant
b. : to press, impose, or thrust urgently, importunately, inexorably
he forced his personality upon his little world by organizing an army — L.C.Powys
force his attentions on a woman
c. : to drive (as warm air) through or into a duct or channel by some impelling force (as a fan)
force the caulking compound into the crevices
5. : to achieve or win by strength in struggle or violence:
a. : to win one's way into : storm successfully : enter in attack
force a castle
b. : to effect a passage through by overcoming defenses
forced the mountain passes — O.L.Spaulding
c. : to break open or through
force a lock
eventually the gate was forced
6.
a. : to raise, accelerate, or heighten to the utmost
forcing the pace
sometimes : to intensify the action and pressure in (as a game)
forced the game by a series of brilliant plays
b. : to give forth, emit, produce only with unnatural or unwilling effort, not freely, spontaneously
the laughter was forced and unnatural — Sherwood Anderson
c. : to wrench, strain, use with marked unnaturalness and lack of ease : press to an unusual use, past a usual limit, or into an unusual meaning or interpretation
to force , to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning — T.S.Eliot
a forced interpretation of the passage
7.
a. : to hasten the speed, growth, progress, developing, or maturing of (as through artificial means, maximum effort, close care, or individual attention)
a forced march
children forced into early maturity by heavy responsibilities
b. : to bring (plants or their wanted parts, as flowers or fruit) to maturity out of the normal season (as by the use of heat and special lighting)
forcing lilies for the Easter trade
8.
a. archaic : reinforce , man
force with soldiers
b. : to increase the intake of (as fluids) beyond the normal bodily requirement
it is wise to force fluids when any systemic intoxication is present
9.
a. : to cause (a person) to respond in a particular way in a game or trick usually to one's own advantage (as by discarding a playing card that an opponent must take under the rules of the game)
card tricks that depend on misdirection to force the helper to take the intended card
b. : to induce (as a particular bid or play by another player) in a card game by some conventional act, play, bid, or response
doubled the opponent's bid to force a try for game from his partner
hoped to force the trump ace out by leading the remaining club
10.
a. : to cause (a runner in baseball) to be put out by compelling him (as by a hit) to vacate the base he has been occupying and attempt to advance to the next base
b. : to cause (a run) to be scored in baseball or (a runner) to score (as by giving a base on balls when the bases are full)
11. : to develop (photographic material) to the limit either in time or by chemical means or both in order to obtain detail in the shadow portions of an underexposed negative or the highlights of an underexposed print
intransitive verb
1. : to advance or progress by force
our troops forcing ahead
2. : to grow, advance, mature by being forced
these plants force well
3.
a. : to make a series of shots intended to put an opponent in a racket game out of position for a subsequent shot
b. : to make a bid or play in a card game that forces another player or a particular response
Synonyms:
compel , coerce , constrain , oblige : force is a general term indicating use of strength, power, weight, stress, duress in overcoming resistance
the editors were forced to flee for their lives and the newspaper plant was burned — American Guide Series: Arkansas
American pressure had been sufficient to force Germany to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare — C.E.Black & E.C.Helmreich
those yield data and force the mind to put many queries — H.O.Taylor
compel may more strongly indicate irresistible overcoming of unwillingness or resistance
yellow fever was raging in Charleston, and for this reason the Scots were compelled to remain on board — W.P.Webb
the discovery of new facts compels the rational thinker to reexamine the adequacy of his previous generalizations — M.R.Cohen
coerce implies domineering and overriding resistance by notably unethical tactics like violence, intimidation, pressure, duress
no one can claim that he was coerced by bribery. This is reserved for threats and direct pleas — W.D.Falk
constrain suggests forcing by something that either does or seems to constrict, press, confine, compress
tied him to the wall, where he was constrained to stay till a kind passerby released him — John Galsworthy
constrained through poverty to live in the houses of others — Edith Sitwell
oblige , although it may apply to any binding force, is common in situations involving ethical, social, or intellectual necessity, through the effect of codes or principles
the Protestant missionary felt obliged to give the Indian a book religion — American Guide Series: Minnesota
obliged to receive and grind grain for his fellow townsmen — American Guide Series: Rhode Island
•
- force a safeguard
- force one's hand
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English fors, force, from Old Norse fors, foss; akin to Sanskrit pṛṣat drop, Old Slavic prachŭ dust
dialect : waterfall , cascade
IV. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by force ) (II) of farce (I)
archaic : farce , stuff
malice forced with wit — Shakespeare
V. noun
1. usually capitalized — used with a number to indicate the strength of the wind according to the Beaufort scale
a Force 10 hurricane
2. : any of the natural influences (as electromagnetism, gravity, the strong force, and the weak force) that exist especially between particles and determine the structure of the universe