coercer

A rare, formal, and somewhat archaic verb meaning to coerce or forcibly constrain — closely tied to the everyday noun coercition. In practice, French speakers reach for contraindre or forcer instead; coercer itself is barely used outside legal or philosophical writing.

• La loi ne peut coercer un citoyen à agir contre sa conscience. — The law cannot coerce a citizen to act against their conscience.
• Ce texte cherchait à coercer les récalcitrants par la force. — This text sought to coerce those who resisted by force.
• On ne saurait coercer une adhésion sincère. — Genuine commitment cannot be coerced.

Coercer is so rare that most French speakers would recognize the noun coercition but not this verb form at all — contraindre is the verb actually used in everyday and even most formal French.

Often confused with contraindre.