Forcing

How to spell forcing

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce forcing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does forcing mean?

1. verbCompelling someone or something to act, move, or happen against resistance.

Forcing in a sentence

• The manager kept forcing the team to work through every weekend.

• The swollen door was stuck, so he ended up forcing it open with his shoulder.

Where does forcing come from?

Language of origin: French

This word grows from the verb 'force', which English took from Old French 'forcier' in the 1200s, meaning to do violence to or to compel. That French verb traces back through Vulgar Latin 'fortia' to the Latin adjective 'fortis', literally meaning 'strong' or 'brave'. The original sense of applying physical strength to overcome resistance broadened over the centuries into the more abstract idea of compelling a person or situation. The same 'fortis' root still lives openly in everyday relatives such as 'fort', 'effort', and 'comfort', all of which carry a flavour of strength. The '-ing' ending simply turns the verb into its participle or gerund form, and because 'force' ends in a silent 'e', that 'e' is dropped before adding '-ing', which is the small spelling habit worth remembering.

How the word is built

• force (from Latin fortis: strong)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)