Library / English Dictionary

FORCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Example:

the shortstop got the runner at second on a force

Synonyms:

force; force-out; force out; force play

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

putout (an out resulting from a fielding play (not a strikeout))

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An act of aggression (as one against a person who resists)

Example:

he may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one

Synonyms:

force; violence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

aggression; hostility (violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

domestic violence (violence or physical abuse directed toward your spouse or domestic partner or other members of a household)

road rage (violence exhibited by drivers in traffic)

public violence; riot (a public act of violence by an unruly mob)

Derivation:

force (take by force)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(of a law) having legal validity

Example:

the law is still in effect

Synonyms:

effect; force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

validity; validness (the quality of having legal force or effectiveness)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Physical energy or intensity

Example:

a government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man

Synonyms:

force; forcefulness; strength

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

intensity; intensiveness (high level or degree; the property of being intense)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

brunt (main force of a blow etc)

impulse; momentum (an impelling force or strength)

energy; vigor; vigour; zip (forceful exertion)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A powerful effect or influence

Example:

the force of his eloquence easily persuaded them

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

influence (a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

pressure (a force that compels)

duress (compulsory force or threat)

heartbeat (an animating or vital unifying force)

lifeblood (an essential or life-giving force)

wheel (forces that provide energy and direction)

Derivation:

force (impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably)

force (do forcibly; exert force)

force (urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate)

force (to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A unit that is part of some military service

Example:

he sent Caesar a force of six thousand men

Synonyms:

force; military force; military group; military unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

social unit; unit (an organization regarded as part of a larger social group)

Meronyms (members of "force"):

man; military man; military personnel; serviceman (someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

legion (a large military unit)

echelon (a body of troops arranged in a line)

phalanx (a body of troops in close array)

Republican Guard (formerly Iraq's elite military unit whose primary role was to protect the government in Baghdad)

Haganah (the clandestine military wing of the Jewish leadership during the British rule over the mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948; became the basis for the Israeli defense force)

IDF; Israeli Defense Force (the ground and air and naval forces of Israel)

militia; reserves (civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army)

commando (an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy territory)

contingent; detail (a temporary military unit)

headquarters ((plural) a military unit consisting of a commander and the headquarters staff)

spearhead (the leading military unit in an attack)

trip wire (a small military force that serves as a first line of defense; if they become engaged in hostilities it will trigger the intervention of stronger military forces)

command (a military unit or region under the control of a single officer)

enemy (an opposing military force)

task force (a temporary military unit formed to accomplish a particular objective)

army unit (a military unit that is part of an army)

naval unit (a military unit that is part of a navy)

air unit (a military unit that is part of the airforce)

armor; armour (a military unit consisting of armored fighting vehicles)

mujahadeen; mujahadein; mujahadin; mujahedeen; mujahedin; mujahideen; mujahidin (a military force of Muslim guerilla warriors engaged in a jihad)

guard (a military unit serving to protect some place or person)

Holonyms ("force" is a member of...):

armed service; military service; service (a force that is a branch of the armed forces)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A group of people having the power of effective action

Example:

he joined forces with a band of adventurers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

social group (people sharing some social relation)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Group of people willing to obey orders

Example:

a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens

Synonyms:

force; personnel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

management personnel (personnel having overall planning and direction responsibilities)

line personnel (personnel having direct job performance responsibilities)

staff (personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task)

rank; rank and file (the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army))

military personnel; soldiery; troops (soldiers collectively)

patrol (a group that goes through a region at regular intervals for the purpose of security)

hands; manpower; men; work force; workforce (the force of workers available)

military police; MP (a military corps that enforces discipline and guards prisoners)

private security force; security force (a privately employed group hired to protect the security of a business or industry)

constabulary; law; police; police force (the force of policemen and officers)

paramilitary; paramilitary force; paramilitary organisation; paramilitary organization; paramilitary unit (a group of civilians organized in a military fashion (especially to operate in place of or to assist regular army troops))

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

armed service; military service; service (a force that is a branch of the armed forces)

guerilla force; guerrilla force (an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups)

Sense 9

Meaning:

One possessing or exercising power or influence or authority

Example:

the forces of evil

Synonyms:

force; power

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

causal agency; causal agent; cause (any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

Moloch (a tyrannical power to be propitiated by human subservience or sacrifice)

influence (one having power to influence another)

juggernaut; steamroller (a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way)

Derivation:

force (impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably)

force (do forcibly; exert force)

force (to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means)

Sense 10

Meaning:

(physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity

Example:

force equals mass times acceleration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("force" is a kind of...):

physical phenomenon (a natural phenomenon involving the physical properties of matter and energy)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "force"):

elan vital; life force; vital force; vitality ((biology) a hypothetical force (not physical or chemical) once thought by Henri Bergson to cause the evolution and development of organisms)

magnetomotive force (the force that produces magnetic flux)

torque; torsion (a twisting force)

stress ((physics) force that produces strain on a physical body)

reaction ((mechanics) the equal and opposite force that is produced when any force is applied to a body)

push; thrust (the force used in pushing)

pull (the force used in pulling)

propulsion (a propelling force)

moment (a turning force produced by an object acting at a distance (or a measure of that force))

Lorentz force (the force experienced by a point charge moving along a wire that is in a magnetic field; the force is at right angles to both the current and the magnetic field)

drift; impetus; impulsion (a force that moves something along)

Coriolis force ((physics) a force due to the earth's rotation; acts on a body in motion (airplane or projectile) in a rotating reference frame; in a rotating frame of reference Newton's second law of motion can be made to apply if in addition to the real forces acting on a body a Coriolis force and a centrifugal force are introduced)

cohesion ((physics) the intermolecular force that holds together the molecules in a solid or liquid)

centripetal force (the inward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body)

centrifugal force (the outward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body)

repulsion; repulsive force (the force by which bodies repel one another)

attraction; attractive force (the force by which one object attracts another)

affinity; chemical attraction (the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule)

aerodynamic force (forces acting on airfoils in motion relative to the air (or other gaseous fluids))

Derivation:

force (do forcibly; exert force)

force (move with force)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably

Example:

She forced her diet fads on him

Synonyms:

force; thrust

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

compel; obligate; oblige (force somebody to do something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

stick; sting (saddle with something disagreeable or disadvantageous)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something on somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Derivation:

force (a powerful effect or influence)

force (one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Do forcibly; exert force

Example:

Don't force it!

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

pull (apply force so as to cause motion towards the source of the motion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Also:

force out (expel from one's property or force to move out by a legal process)

force out (cause to come out in a squirt)

force out (force with the thumb)

force back (cause to move back by force or influence)

Derivation:

force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)

force (one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority)

force (a powerful effect or influence)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically

Example:

He drives me mad

Synonyms:

drive; force; ram

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

thrust (push forcefully)

Verb group:

drive (compel somebody to do something, often against his own will or judgment)

drive (to compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

toe; toenail (drive obliquely)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Squeeze like a wedge into a tight space

Example:

I squeezed myself into the corner

Synonyms:

force; squeeze; wedge

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

compact; compress; pack together (make more compact by or as if by pressing)

impact (press or wedge together; pack together)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 5

Meaning:

Take by force

Example:

Storm the fort

Synonyms:

force; storm

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

penetrate; perforate (pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

force (an act of aggression (as one against a person who resists))

Sense 6

Meaning:

Urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate

Synonyms:

force; impel

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They force him to write the letter

Derivation:

force (a powerful effect or influence)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Move with force

Example:

He pushed the table into a corner

Synonyms:

force; push

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

"Force" entails doing...:

press (exert pressure or force to or upon)

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Verb group:

push (press against forcefully without moving)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

tip; topple; tumble (cause to topple or tumble by pushing)

shove; squeeze; stuff; thrust (press or force)

jam (push down forcibly)

drive (urge forward)

thrust (push forcefully)

push up (push upward)

muscle into (force one's way)

push aside; push away (push out of the way)

obtrude; push out; thrust out (push to thrust outward)

nose (push or move with the nose)

jostle; shove (come into rough contact with while moving)

flick; jerk (throw or toss with a quick motion)

shove (push roughly)

beat back; drive; force back; push back; repel; repulse (cause to move back by force or influence)

press; push (make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby)

nudge; poke at; prod (to push against gently)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s PP

Also:

force out (press, force, or thrust out of a small space)

force out (force or drive out)

Derivation:

force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)

forcible (impelled by physical force especially against resistance)

Sense 8

Meaning:

To cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means

Example:

He squeezed her for information

Synonyms:

coerce; force; hale; pressure; squeeze

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "force" is one way to...):

compel; obligate; oblige (force somebody to do something)

Cause:

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "force"):

turn up the heat; turn up the pressure (apply great or increased pressure)

drive (to compel or force or urge relentlessly or exert coercive pressure on, or motivate strongly)

bludgeon (overcome or coerce as if by using a heavy club)

steamroll; steamroller (bring to a specified state by overwhelming force or pressure)

squeeze for (squeeze someone for money, information, etc.)

dragoon; railroad; sandbag (compel by coercion, threats, or crude means)

terrorise; terrorize (coerce by violence or with threats)

bring oneself (cause to undertake a certain action, usually used in the negative)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Sentence example:

They force him to write the letter

Derivation:

force (a powerful effect or influence)

force (one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority)

Credits

 Context examples: 

For then the Marches, Laurences, Brookes and Bhaers turned out in full force and made a day of it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Here was an opportunity which I might not have again, so I exerted myself, and with many efforts forced it back so that I could enter.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

No sooner did that idea cross my imagination, than I became convinced of its truth; my teeth chattered, and I was forced to lean against a tree for support.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The force which, when applied in a vacuum to a body having a mass of one kilogram, causes an acceleration of one meter per second squared.

(Newton, NCI Thesaurus)

He made a movement to rise, but I do not believe he had enough force left in his body.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

An organization of military naval forces.

(Navy, NCI Thesaurus)

At this level, phenomena are controlled primarily by Coulombic forces, quantum mechanics, and the random thermal motion of particles.

(Nanoscale Phenomena, NCI Thesaurus)

Damage inflicted on any part of cardiovascular system as the direct or indirect result of an external force, with or without disruption of structural continuity.

(Cardiovascular Injury, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Injuries resulting when a person is struck by particles impelled with violent force from an explosion.

(Blast Injury, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The study of the application of mechanical laws and the action of forces to living structures.

(Biomechanics, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)