forcible
/fˈɔɹsəbəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.82 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, / Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, / Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, / And, in embraces forcible and foul / Engendering with me, of that rape begot / These yelling monsters, that with ceaseless cry / Surround me, as thou saw'st—"
- "The forcible administration of poison is by no means a new thing in criminal annals."
- "Since the forcible ejection of pugilist Siki from the New York Bar in Paris, discussion of Negro rights has become serious."
- "2008, U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded."
- "[…] he drew her to him, laid a forcible detaining arm about her waist, and misapprehended her frantic revolt for an exhibition of maidenly reluctance."
- "But that which hath been once most sufficient, may wax otherwise by alteration of time and place; that punishment which hath been sometimes forcible to bridle sin, may grow afterwards too weak and feebled."
Etymology
From Middle English forcible, forsable, from Old French forcible, from forcier (“to conquer by force”), equivalent to force + -ible.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: forcible
Usage
Inflected Forms
more forcible (comparative)
most forcible (superlative)