DURESS Meaning of DURESS in English [du.ress] n [ME duresse, fr. MF duresce hardness, severity, fr. L duritia, fr. durus] (15c) 1: forcible restraint or restriction 2: compulsion by threat; specif: unlawful constraint Merriam-Webster English vocab. Английский словарь Merriam Webster. 2012