HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
| n. 1. The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power: the force of an explosion. 2. a. Power made operative against resistance; exertion: use force in driving a nail. b. The use of physical power or violence to compel or restrain: a confession obtained by force. 3. a. Intellectual power or vigor, especially as conveyed in writing or speech. b. Moral strength. c. A capacity for affecting the mind or behavior; efficacy: the force of logical argumentation. d. One that possesses such capacity: the forces of evil. 4. a. A body of persons or other resources organized or available for a certain purpose: a large labor force. b. A person or group capable of influential action: a retired senator who is still a force in national politics. 5. a. Military strength. b. A unit of a nation's military personnel, especially one deployed into combat: Our armed forces have at last engaged the enemy. 6. Physics a. A vector quantity indicating the strength and direction of the capacity to accelerate a body. Newton's second law of motion states that a free body accelerates in the direction of the net force and that its acceleration is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to its mass. b. See fundamental force. 7. Baseball A force play. tr.v. forced, forc·ing, forc·es Idioms: 1. To compel through pressure or necessity: I forced myself to practice daily. He was forced to take a second job. 2. a. To gain by the use of force or coercion: force a confession. b. To move or effect against resistance or inertia: forced my foot into the shoe. c. To inflict or impose relentlessly: He forced his ideas upon the group. 3. a. To put undue strain on: She forced her voice despite being hoarse. b. To increase or accelerate (a pace, for example) to the maximum. c. To produce with effort and against one's will: force a laugh in spite of pain. d. To use (language) with obvious lack of ease and naturalness. 4. a. To move, open, or clear by force: forced our way through the crowd. b. To break down or open by force: force a lock. 5. To rape. 6. To induce change in (a complex system) by changing one of its parameters: greenhouse gases that force the earth's climate. 7. Botany To cause to grow or mature by artificially accelerating normal processes. 8. Baseball a. To put (a runner) out on a force play. b. To allow (a run) to be scored by walking a batter when the bases are loaded. 9. Games To cause an opponent to play (a particular card). force (oneself) on(or upon) To rape. force (someone's) hand To force to act or speak prematurely or unwillingly. in force 1. In full strength; in large numbers: Demonstrators were out in force. 2. In effect; operative: a rule that is no longer in force. [Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin fortia, from neuter pl. of Latin fortis, strong; see bhergh-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] forcea·ble adj. forcer n. Synonyms: force, compel, coerce, oblige, obligate These verbs mean to cause one to follow a prescribed or dictated course against one's will. Force, the most general, usually implies the exertion of physical power or the operation of circumstances that permit no options: The driver was forced from his car at gunpoint. A downturn in the market forced us to sell. Compel has a similar range but applies especially to the exertion of legal or moral authority: The official was compelled to testify under the committee's subpoena power. I felt compelled by my conscience to return the money. Coerce implies the application of pressure or threats in securing compliance: “The technology exists to reduce or eliminate these emissions, but industry will not apply it unless coerced” (Andrew Weil). Oblige implies the operation of authority, necessity, or moral or ethical considerations: “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do” (Mark Twain). Obligate applies when compliance is enforced by a legal contract or by the dictates of one's conscience or sense of propriety: I am obligated to repay the loan. See Also Synonyms at strength. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
