Force

/fɔːs/ name, noun, verb

name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Ability to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
  • Grammar: force is listed as name, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: a lot of stress, a shove, abuse, accelerate.
  • Useful contrasts: gentle tug, moral authority, no force.
  • Usage evidence: I consider the Jehovah's witnesses who knock on my door all the time to be no different from religious zealots trying to force their beliefs on me.

How to use "force"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "force" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "force" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "force" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "force" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "force" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "a lot of stress" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "force", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Ability to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect. countable, uncountable

    "the force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract"

  2. 2
    A waterfall or cascade. Northern-England, countable

    "to see the falls or force of the river Kent"

  3. 3
    a putout of a base runner who is required to run; the putout is accomplished by holding the ball while touching the base to which the runner must advance before the runner reaches that base wordnet
  4. 4
    A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).; The generalized abstraction of this concept. uncountable

    "Torque is the rotational version of force."

  5. 5
    an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists) wordnet
Show 26 more definitions
  1. 6
    A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).; A particular form or type of force. countable

    "Most physicists deem there to be four fundamental forces: the weak force, the strong force, gravitation, and the electromagnetic force."

  2. 7
    (of a law) having legal validity wordnet
  3. 8
    A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).; A particular form or type of force.; A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note. capitalized, countable, humorous, often, uncountable

    "The Europeans tried, my goodness how they tried. But on the day the US proved too strong and too inspired. They were, dammit, just better. And when Leonard's putt dropped they clearly had the force with them as well."

  4. 9
    physical energy or intensity wordnet
  5. 10
    A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).; An instance of a physical force. countable

    "A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever."

  6. 11
    a powerful effect or influence wordnet
  7. 12
    A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn).; Force understood as something of which there can be an amount. possibly, proscribed, uncountable

    "Heavier objects are those that are subject to more gravitational force."

  8. 13
    a unit that is part of some military service wordnet
  9. 14
    Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing. countable
  10. 15
    a group of people having the power of effective action wordnet
  11. 16
    Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    group of people willing to obey orders wordnet
  13. 18
    Something that exerts influence. countable

    "force of nature"

  14. 19
    one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority wordnet
  15. 20
    Something that exerts influence.; Something that, over time, influences a system with which it interacts (with a connotation of underlyingness, subtlety, or indirectness). countable, uncountable

    "I believe that the main long-term force that guides a society's evolution is not the economy or the leaders, but the culture."

  16. 21
    (physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity wordnet
  17. 22
    Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion. uncountable

    "which now they hold by force, and not by right"

  18. 23
    Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.; Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion. countable, uncountable
  19. 24
    A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group). countable

    "air force; police force"

  20. 25
    A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).; Any large, organized group involved in a military engagement. countable, uncountable
  21. 26
    A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).; Military personnel, collectively, including any vehicles, ships, or aircraft. More broadly, the military or police altogether. countable, plural, singular, uncountable

    "After only a week, Japanese forces had captured Singapore from the British."

  22. 27
    A group organized for the goal of attacking, controlling, or constraining, especially one with a set command structure (in particular, a military or police group).; Military personnel, collectively, including any vehicles, ships, or aircraft. More broadly, the military or police altogether.; Synonym of police force. countable, plural, singular, uncountable, usually, with-definite-article

    "Q. All the time that he was on the force? A. I cannot say that; but there were men on with me when I was on the force who were very good Republicans. Q. During all this time you have been on the police force?"

  23. 28
    The state of having legal weight, of being legally valid,. uncountable

    "The law will come into force in January."

  24. 29
    A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person. countable
  25. 30
    Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning. countable, uncountable

    "When the aspectual force of the verbal categories weakens, the 'terminative', punctual or determinative value of the prefix gains in importance,..."

  26. 31
    The annualized instantaneous rate of change at a particular timepoint. countable, uncountable

    "force of mortality"

Verb
  1. 1
    To make someone or something do something, often regardless of their will. transitive

    "Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard."

  2. 2
    To stuff; to lard; to farce.

    "Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit."

  3. 3
    impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably wordnet
  4. 4
    To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of. transitive

    "Shall wee force the general law of nature, which in all living creatures under heaven is seene to tremble at paine?"

  5. 5
    do forcibly; exert force wordnet
Show 18 more definitions
  1. 6
    To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb). transitive

    "It stuck so fast, so deeply buried lay / That scarce the victor forced the steel away."

  2. 7
    force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically wordnet
  3. 8
    To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force. transitive

    "The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then."

  4. 9
    squeeze like a wedge into a tight space wordnet
  5. 10
    To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.). transitive

    "I forgot my keys in and so we had to force (open) the door."

  6. 11
    take by force wordnet
  7. 12
    To violate (a woman); to rape. transitive

    "For yf ye were suche fyfty as ye be / ye were not able to make resystence ageynst this deuyl / here lyeth a duchesse deede the whiche was the fayrest of alle the world wyf to syre Howel / duc of Bretayne / he hath murthred her in forcynge her / and has slytte her vnto the nauyl"

  8. 13
    urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate wordnet
  9. 14
    To exert oneself, to do one's utmost. intransitive, obsolete, reflexive

    "And I pray you for my sake to force yourselff there, that men may speke you worshyp."

  10. 15
    move with force wordnet
  11. 16
    To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
  12. 17
    to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means wordnet
  13. 18
    To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground. transitive

    "Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag."

  14. 19
    To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
  15. 20
    To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce. archaic

    "VVhat can the Church force more?"

  16. 21
    To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison. archaic

    "Were they not forc’d with thoſe that ſhould be ours, / We might haue met them darefull, beard to beard, / And beate them backward home."

  17. 22
    To allow the force of; to value; to care for. obsolete

    "For me, I force not argument a straw."

  18. 23
    To grow (rhubarb) in the dark, causing it to grow early.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Falls. used in place names. Northern-England
  2. 2
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
a lot of stressa shoveabuseaccelerateaccentaction

Antonyms

gentle tugmoral authorityno forcecajoling

Example

"I consider the Jehovah's witnesses who knock on my door all the time to be no different from religious zealots trying to force their beliefs on me."

Common questions

What does "force" mean?

Ability to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.

What is a synonym for "force"?

Common synonyms include: a lot of stress, a shove, abuse, accelerate, accent, action.

How do you use "force" in a sentence?

I consider the Jehovah's witnesses who knock on my door all the time to be no different from religious zealots trying to force their beliefs on me.

How do you pronounce "force"?

Pronounced /fɔːs/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English force, fors, forse, from Old French force, from Late Latin fortia, a noun derived from the neuter plural of Latin fortis (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise, high, hill”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English forcen, from Old French forcier, from Late Latin *fortiāre, from Latin fortia.

Etymology 3

From Middle English force, forz, fors, from Old Norse fors (“waterfall”), from Proto-Germanic *fursaz (“waterfall”). Cognate with Icelandic foss (“waterfall”), Norwegian foss (“waterfall”), Swedish fors (“waterfall”). Doublet of foss.

Etymology 4

From Middle English forcen, forsen, a use of force, with confusion of farce (“to stuff”).

Etymology 5

From Old Norse fors or foss (“waterfall”).

More for "force"

Synonyms

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