Force Meaning
/fɔːs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAbility to influence; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
nounA 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.
Sentence Examples
The bridge couldn't sustain the force of the strong current and collapsed.
Nothing can force me to give it up.
The release of the hostages could not be achieved without the use of force.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The strong wind blew with such intense ____ that it knocked down the fence.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm hit the coast with incredible ____, causing widespread damage and power outages.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He was, in the full force of the words, a good man."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIV, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
"After his actions were challenged by foreign governments and Parliament initially tried to put a stop to his action, Denman returned home and argued his case with enough force that, by 1848, the Royal Navy was handed active permission and encouragement to raze every last slave factory they could find to the ground, and full authority to stop any ship, of any flag, that was thought to be a slaver, with a guarantee with^([sic]) no censure from the government."
— 2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 9:45 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2024:
"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."
— 1999 September 28, Mike Selvey, “Crenshaw vindicated by a chain reaction”, in The Guardian:
"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural."
— 2005, George Lucas, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, spoken by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), published 2005:
"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."
— 2012 March 26, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The strong wind blew with such intense ____ that it knocked down the fence.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm hit the coast with incredible ____, causing widespread damage and power outages.