coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
kō-ˈər-siv 
: serving or intended to coerce
coercive power
coercive measures
coercively
adverb
coerciveness
noun
Examples of coercive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Some styles of leadership are generally more positive than others—for example, coaching leadership versus coercive leadership.
—
Andrew Davidson, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
But unlike the current coercive approach, a strategy of persuasion demands genuine engagement and collaborative risk assessment.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2025
Ways of making people believe things don’t divide neatly into the persuasive and the coercive—the brainwashing model gives the lie to that distinction.
—Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Monday, the American College of Trial Lawyers joined the condemnation of President Trump’s coercive partisan executive orders attacking these law firms, while the American Bar Association has condemned this attack on the rule of law.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
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Andrew Davidson, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
But unlike the current coercive approach, a strategy of persuasion demands genuine engagement and collaborative risk assessment.
—Matias Spektor, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2025
Ways of making people believe things don’t divide neatly into the persuasive and the coercive—the brainwashing model gives the lie to that distinction.
—Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Monday, the American College of Trial Lawyers joined the condemnation of President Trump’s coercive partisan executive orders attacking these law firms, while the American Bar Association has condemned this attack on the rule of law.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for coercive
Cite this Entry
“Coercive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coercive. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
coercive
adjective
co·er·cive
kō-ˈər-siv
1
: serving or intended to coerce
2
: resulting from coercion
to protect women from coercive intimacy—Kimberle Crenshaw
Kimberle CrenshawLove words? Need even more definitions?
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