d(y)əˈres, -)u̇ˈ- sometimes ˈd(y)u̇ˌres or )üˌ- noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English duresse hardness, severity, oppression, restraint, confinement, from Middle French duresce, durece hardness, hardheartedness, from Latin duritia, from durus hard — more at dure
1. : restraint or check by force (as arrest or imprisonment) : durance
while the German army was still held in duress by the Versailles treaty — S.L.A.Marshall
2. : stringent compulsion by threat of danger, hardship, or retribution : distress arising from such compulsion : coercion
a population working under the duress of dictatorship — Science
ordinary clergymen subscribe them under duress because they cannot otherwise obtain ordination — G.B.Shaw
3. : compulsion or constraint by which a person is illegally forced to do or forbear some act by actual imprisonment or physical violence to the person or by threat of such violence, the violence or threat being such as to inspire a person of ordinary firmness with fear of serious injury to the person (as loss of liberty or of life or limb), reputation, or fortune
Synonyms: see force