duress

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“
Under obvious Soviet duress, they were compelled to sign a treaty that provided for the

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun Constraint by threat; coercion: confessed under duress.
  2. noun Law Coercion illegally applied.
  3. noun Law Forcible confinement.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (45)

  • "He says a decision made under duress is not valid There is no duress," Che said. —  Volk
  • "I'm concerned about what that might create from a financial obligation to the state of Colorado considering that PERA right now is under great duress, and how much it's going to cost us, the people of the state of Colorado, to offer that PERA benefit to those who may not be able to continue working at that facility," Kerr said. —  News/local from www.chieftain.com
  • The Cuban government signed the lease under duress, an occupied country isn ` t in a position to sign a lease under favorable terms. —  The Student Operated Press
  • Made by confused Chinese artists under duress, and in a style foreign to them, the compositions, as well as the seas of buoyant, smiling, mask-like faces - all born of oppression and fear - are telling as records of subjugation, but dead as artworks. —  New York Sun - All Articles
  • With the Playboy Empire already under some duress, the economic downturn no doubt put severe stress on their bottom line (no pun intended). —  PopPolitics.com
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English duresse, harshness, compulsion, from Old French durece, hardness, from Latin dūritia, from dūrus, hard; see deru- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English duresse, duresce, hardship, from Old French durece, duresce, duresse = Provencal duressa = Spanish Portuguese dureza = Italian durezza, from Latin duritia, hardness, harshness, severity, austerity, from durus, hard: see dure, adjective
  2. from duress, n.
 

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/ˈdjurɛs/
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