forcing

verb

present participle of force
1
as in coercing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure the public outcry from the scandal forced the mayor to resign road construction forced them to take an alternate route

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in violating
to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent was accused of forcing a woman

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of forcing Cooper has led wire-to-wire over Republican opponent Michael Whatley, maintaining wide polling and fundraising leads and forcing key GOP super PACs to pause spending in the race to focus elsewhere. — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 26 Oct. 2026 The question is going to voters because opponents gathered petition signatures forcing a referendum. — Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026 The campus is built to be fluid with a production’s needs — whether film, TV, commercial or immersive activation — rather than forcing every project into the same box. — Partner Content, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 If your revenue has legitimately decreased, forcing a reconciliation can immediately reduce your daily ACH burden to a manageable level. — Nathan Mor, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Bass has been forcing Raman to explain her own role in overseeing the city’s troubled homelessness response. — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026 Now, the man who was thought to have been Mahomes’ protector for the remainder of the quarterback’s career may completely be out, forcing the team back to the drawing board. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026 Neither candidate reached the majority needed to win outright, forcing both campaigns to compete for a shrinking pool of undecided voters while trying to mobilize their supporters in a country deeply divided over its political future. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026 Smelters reject or penalize this dangerous contaminant, forcing miners to destroy it using energy-intensive, high-emission furnaces. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forcing
  1. coercing
  2. violating
  3. compelling
  4. raping
  5. obligating
  6. assaulting
  7. obliging
  8. pressuring
Verb
  • In lawsuits filed last year, Chegg and PMC accused Google of abusing its monopoly power by coercing publishers into supplying content for AI Overviews for free, or risk disappearing from search results.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Playing that cat, a work camp warden coercing Hawke’s character into smuggling gold through the wilderness, is none other than Russell Crowe.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of coercing
Verb
  • Charlotte’s water utility has fielded about 18 complaints a day of people violating mandatory water restrictions in place since mid-May, when the region was facing an extreme drought crisis.
    — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Just before kickoff, the Tide confirmed that Kirkpatrick was suspended for violating team rules.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of violating
Verb
  • Last year, Wangari pushed through a law compelling the government to open more than a hundred registry offices, and making identity documents a fundamental right for every citizen.
    — Vivienne Walt, Time, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The state’s campaign watchdog can seek a court order compelling an influencer to disclose that they were paid, but that can take months.
    — Sophie Austin, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of compelling
Verb
  • Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather was indicted for raping Acton.
    — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In a statement released by Acton's campaign, her brother, Philip Stearns, said the two were removed from their mother Donna Arthur's custody as children after their stepfather, Arthur's husband, was indicted for raping Acton as a child.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of raping
Verb
  • The system can also halt the procedure and involve a human operator at specific stages, such as in specific manual underwriting procedures, instead of obligating all files through the same system.
    — Ethan Stone, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Your 11th House of Friends lights up as the life-giving Sun energizes that area, squaring obligating Saturn in your 8th House of Intimacy and Shared Resources.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2026
Definition of obligating
Verb
  • Federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting the agent, then dropped the case in February.
    — Ashley Grams, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Stokes’ wife, former Hot 97 radio personality and employee TT Torrez, has also spoken out against the incident, issuing a statement through a representative accusing Funk Flex of physically assaulting her during the altercation with her husband.
    — Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • Recipe development can be a self-effacing task, obliging the writer to anticipate the appetites and routines of her imagined reader.
    — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • First is to prevent their further migration by enforcing an international treaty obliging national authorities to treat ballast waters inside incoming ships that may carry such species.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
Definition of obliging
Verb
  • Meanwhile, angry residents continue to flood once-sleepy municipal board meetings, pressuring officials to reject data center proposals.
    — Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • More concerning was the lack of impact from third-year forward Buzelis, who struggled to achieve his goal of pressuring the Raptors at the rim.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of pressuring

Browse Nearby Words

forcibly
forcing
ford
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Cite this Entry

“Forcing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forcing. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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