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force
[ fawrs ]
noun
- physical power or strength possessed by a living being:
He used all his force in opening the window.
- strength or power exerted upon a person; physical coercion; violence:
The campus police are legally authorized to use force to defend themselves or others.
She had a personality of great force that helped her succeed as a leader.
Synonyms: vigor
- power to influence, affect, or control; efficacious power:
They were strangers brought together by the force of circumstances.
UNESCO is calling on countries to increase political commitment to education as a force for inclusion.
Synonyms: authority, influence, constraint
- Law. unlawful violence threatened or committed against persons or property.
- persuasive power; power to convince:
They felt the force of his arguments.
Synonyms: validity, potency, cogency, effectiveness, efficacy
Antonyms: impotence
- mental or moral strength:
It requires great force of character to go against the crowd.
- might, as of a ruler or realm; strength for war:
The government hoped a show of force at sea would prevent an invasion by scaring off the opposing side.
- Often forces or Forces. the people and resources that make up the military, especially of a nation:
After the surrender, the invaders withdrew the majority of their forces, but left garrisons in place.
- Often the force or the Force. the police force:
She was a police officer for twenty years, but retired from the force a year ago.
- any body of persons combined for joint action:
We have a sales force of one hundred people spread all across the state.
- intensity or strength of effect:
The force of her acting was such that I nearly forgot I was watching a film.
- Physics.
- an influence on a body or system, producing or tending to produce a change in movement or in shape or other effects.
- the intensity of such an influence. : F, f
- any influence or agency analogous to physical force:
Two powerful social forces, consumerism and economic anxiety, are clashing as a recession looms.
- binding power, as of a contract or law:
The The Data Protection Act 2018 was passed by the British Parliament in 2016 and came into force on May 25, 2018.
The force of his message was lost on me—I didn't understand a word he said.
- Baseball. force play ( def ).
- Billiards. a sharp stroke hitting a cue ball directly below the center in such a manner as to cause it to stop abruptly, bound back, or roll off to one side after hitting the object ball.
- the Force, in the fictional Star Wars universe, a metaphysical energy that connects all living things and can be used for feats such as telekinesis, telepathy, influencing the minds of others, etc.
verb (used with object)
- to compel, constrain, or oblige (oneself or another person) to do something:
They lied to force the suspect to confess.
Synonyms: coerce
- to drive or propel against resistance:
He forced his way through the crowd.
They forced air into his lungs.
- to bring about or effect by force:
The general's gunboats attacked the fort on February 6, and forced a surrender.
- to bring about from necessity or as a necessary result:
Raising interest rates is one of the most reliable ways to force a slowdown in the housing market.
- to bring about (a reaction, emotion, etc.) against natural inclination:
She had to force a smile in the midst of her sadness.
He forced a laugh at his companion's terrible joke.
- to put or impose (something or someone) forcibly on a person:
His habit of forcing his opinions on others made him difficult to work with.
- to compel by force; overcome resistance to (an action or practice):
During this period of religious instability in England, monarchs tried to force acceptance of their chosen church through law.
- to obtain or draw forth by or as if by force; extort:
They forced a testimony out of the reluctant witness.
- to break open (a door, lock, etc.):
The thieves forced the lock, so we'll have to completely replace it.
- to cause (plants, fruits, etc.) to grow or mature at an increased rate by artificial means:
You can force rhubarb for an earlier harvest by covering the crowns in the late winter.
- to enter or take by force; overpower:
They forced the town after a long siege.
- to press, urge, or exert to violent effort or to the utmost:
The auctioneer displays refreshing charm and wit as he forces the bidding and drives the price higher and higher.
- to use force upon.
- Baseball.
- to cause (a base runner) to be put out by obliging the runner, as by a ground ball, to vacate a base and attempt to move to the next base in order to make room for another runner or the batter.
- to cause (a base runner or run) to score, as by walking a batter with the bases full (often followed by in ).
- Cards.
- to compel (a player) to trump by leading a suit of which the player has no cards.
- to compel a player to play (a particular card).
- to compel (a player) to play so as to make known the strength of the hand.
- Photography.
- to develop (a print or negative) for longer than usual in order to increase density or bring out details.
- to bring out underexposed parts of (a print or negative) by adding alkali to the developer.
- Archaic. to give force to; strengthen; reinforce.
verb (used without object)
- to make one's way by force:
He saw her car force through the crowd.
force
1/ fɔːs /
noun
- (in northern England) a waterfall
force
2/ fɔːs /
noun
- strength or energy; might; power
the force of the blow
a gale of great force
- exertion or the use of exertion against a person or thing that resists; coercion
- physics
- a dynamic influence that changes a body from a state of rest to one of motion or changes its rate of motion. The magnitude of the force is equal to the product of the mass of the body and its acceleration
- a static influence that produces an elastic strain in a body or system or bears weight F
- physics any operating influence that produces or tends to produce a change in a physical quantity
coercive force
electromotive force
- intellectual, social, political, or moral influence or strength
the forces of evil
the force of his argument
- a person or thing with such influence
he was a force in the land
- vehemence or intensity
he spoke with great force
- a group of persons organized for military or police functions
armed forces
- the force informal.the force sometimes capital the police force
- a group of persons organized for particular duties or tasks
a workforce
- criminal law violence unlawfully committed or threatened
- philosophy logic that which an expression is normally used to achieve See speech act illocution perlocution
- in forcein force
- (of a law) having legal validity or binding effect
- in great strength or numbers
- join forcesjoin forces to combine strengths, efforts, etc
verb
- to compel or cause (a person, group, etc) to do something through effort, superior strength, etc; coerce
- to acquire, secure, or produce through effort, superior strength, etc
to force a confession
- to propel or drive despite resistance
to force a nail into wood
- to break down or open (a lock, safe, door, etc)
- to impose or inflict
he forced his views on them
- to cause (plants or farm animals) to grow or fatten artificially at an increased rate
- to strain or exert to the utmost
to force the voice
- to rape; ravish
- cards
- to compel (a player) to trump in order to take a trick
- to compel a player by the lead of a particular suit to play (a certain card)
- (in bridge) to induce (a bid) from one's partner by bidding in a certain way
- force a smileforce a smile to make oneself smile
- force downforce down to compel an aircraft to land
- force the paceforce the pace to adopt a high speed or rate of procedure
force
/ fôrs /
- Any of various factors that cause a body to change its speed, direction, or shape. Force is a vector quantity, having both magnitude and direction. Contributions of force from different sources can be summed to give the net force at any given point.
- Any of the four natural phenomena involving the interaction between particles of matter. From the strongest to the weakest, the four forces are the strong nuclear force , the electromagnetic force , the weak nuclear force , and gravity .
force
- In physics , something that causes a change in the motion of an object. The modern definition of force (an object's mass multiplied by its acceleration ) was given by Isaac Newton in Newton's laws of motion . The most familiar unit of force is the pound. ( See mechanics .)
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Notes
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Derived Forms
- ˈforcer, noun
- ˈforcingly, adverb
- ˈforceable, adjective
- ˈforceless, adjective
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Other Words From
- force·a·ble adjective
- force·less adjective
- forc·er noun
- forc·ing·ly adverb
- in·ter·force noun
- o·ver·force noun
- o·ver·force verb overforced overforcing
- un·force·a·ble adjective
- un·forc·ing adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of force1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of force1
Origin of force2
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Idioms and Phrases
- in force,
- in operation; effective:
This ancient rule is no longer in force.
- in large numbers; at full strength:
They attacked in force.
More idioms and phrases containing force
- brute force
- driving force
- in force
- join forces
- reckon with (force to be reckoned with)
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
Troye said she organized and participated in every meeting of the coronavirus task force, which her former boss chairs, between February and July.
Climate change has also been a force behind the latest wave of destructive wildfires on the West Coast.
Perhaps the presence of EMS workers could have saved Taylor’s life, as her attorneys say, but this would not have changed the fact that she was already the victim of excessive force the moment officers stormed in and started shooting.
Altogether, this means that water is hitting the ground with more force and the soil is unable to suck it up.
The president recently visited Wisconsin to highlight his support for law enforcement and to reinforce his message that he is best suited to tamp down violence — with force, if necessary.
Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.
Shortly after dawn, there was another outbreak of deadly force.
And Air Force assessors are the first to say such imaging never tells the whole story.
Detectives with a fugitive task force caught up with Polanco and a friend on a Bronx street in the early afternoon.
The Pentagon said Faal served in the Air Force for seven years, during which time he became a U.S. citizen.
The Goliath wouldn't answer; the Dublin said the force was coming off, and we could not get into touch with the soldiers at all.
For this use of the voice in the special service of will-power, or propelling force, it is necessary first to test its freedom.
But you are mistaken in thinking the force west consists of the entire Merrill Horse.
She and her younger sister, Janet, had quarreled a good deal through force of unfortunate habit.
In the time of destruction they shall pour out their force: and they shall appease the wrath of him that made them.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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