How to Use force in a Sentence

force

1 of 2 noun
  • The front of the car took the full force of the collision.
  • He used brute force to open the door.
  • We discourage the use of force.
  • The police were accused of using excessive force when they made the arrest.
  • I was impressed by the force of her personality.
  • But the code of ethics does not carry the force of law.
    NBC News, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Benson flailed backward from the force of the hit and fell to the ground.
    The Indianapolis Star, 19 Oct. 2022
  • The body also had sharp force injuries to the hands and arms.
    City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2022
  • The force of the blast made the ceiling fall; the lights turned off and sirens turned on.
    Christina Tkacik, baltimoresun.com, 4 Aug. 2021
  • The force of the crash tore the steering wheel out of Bertulius’ car.
    courant.com, 9 Aug. 2021
  • But questions are being raised about the need for the use of such force.
    Kelly Murray and Emma Tucker, CNN, 6 Mar. 2021
  • The city and state have overhauled guidelines on use of force.
    Eric Ferkenhoff, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2021
  • That man is a vile, destructive force in the country and in the world.
    Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Sep. 2022
  • The county coroner has ruled that the child died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
    Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 10 June 2021
  • There’s this force that comes from nature that you just...
    Brennan Kilbane, Allure, 12 Nov. 2020
  • And, oh, how the Red Sox are thrilled to have him as the steady force on the field.
    Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 10 May 2021
  • A century later the same is true of these tours de force.
    Leena Kim and Olivia Hosken, Town & Country, 17 May 2022
  • Learning from that last season could be a driving force toward the top of the league.
    Jim Derry, NOLA.com, 30 Sep. 2020
  • As in the first movie, our heroes join forces with the other employees to thwart the plan.
    Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 23 Nov. 2023
  • In the third set, Abraham was a force at the net with four kills and a couple of big blocks.
    oregonlive, 29 Oct. 2022
  • The law gives officers wide latitude to use force on the job.
    Emilie Eaton, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Feb. 2022
  • Humans would join forces and clobber it just to avenge our species.
    WIRED, 26 Sep. 2023
  • Cash was stolen from a fast-food restaurant entered by force.
    Washington Post, 8 July 2020
  • Other forces had an effect as the nearly dead band rose from the ashes.
    David Kirby, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2023
  • At the time, the singer denied that her mother was a positive force behind the scenes.
    Elizabeth Wagmeister, Variety, 6 Apr. 2022
  • Moreover, the people who see his defeat as a call to arms remain a force.
    Peter Baker, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Jan. 2021
  • The law is expected to be signed into force as early as next week.
    Katherine Dunn, Fortune, 10 July 2020
  • There has been no talk of merging the Habitats into one force here.
    jsonline.com, 7 Aug. 2020
  • This is not the first time a Black life was extinguished on camera by force.
    al, 25 June 2020
  • Having a common calling is, at the end of the day, a powerful force.
    Michael Schroeder, The Indianapolis Star, 11 June 2021
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force

2 of 2 verb
  • Their car was forced off the road.
  • The runner was forced out of bounds.
  • The pilot was forced to land when one of the plane's engines caught fire.
  • They forced us to work long hours without pay.
  • They are trying to force a vote on this issue.
  • The flooding forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes.
  • I am forced to conclude that more funding will be necessary.
  • The scandal forced his resignation.
  • Lack of time may eventually force a compromise.
  • After seeing the evidence, I was forced to admit my error.
  • This forces them to have to spend their nights on the street.
    Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2023
  • Yet these state bills would force them to play with the boys.
    Jack Turban, Scientific American, 16 Mar. 2021
  • Don’t force me to go to the bullpen or bring in a pinch-hitter.
    Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2021
  • The buyer should not then be forced to go through with it.
    The Economist, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Stanley could refuse to do so and force the board to fire him.
    David Jesse, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2022
  • They are forced to stay on their toes and are in a steady state of readiness.
    Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, 4 Mar. 2018
  • None of those had forced him to the emergency room, but this one did.
    USA Today, 29 May 2020
  • Both those teams force (and commit) a lot of turnovers.
    Noah Trister, ajc, 14 Mar. 2022
  • No persons have the right to force others to pay for healthcare.
    Anchorage Daily News, 3 Oct. 2020
  • Does that mean the Lobos stack the box and force the Aztecs to beat them with the pass?
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2021
  • The trick now is to force them to keep their money out of politics for good.
    Nick Martin, The New Republic, 12 Jan. 2021
  • The girl is on the call as officers finally force their way in to the room next door.
    Rachel Clarke, CNN, 1 Nov. 2022
  • Will the Hurricanes rack up more sacks and force a turnover?
    David Furones, sun-sentinel.com, 18 Sep. 2020
  • In those cases, you could be forced to take a break to address that change.
    Kristine Gill, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Nov. 2023
  • Or teams trying to build a cap room? Be forced to trade it?
    Marilyn Payne, For The Win, 24 Dec. 2019
  • The crew members, meanwhile, were forced to stay at their jobs.
    Anchorage Daily News, 21 Feb. 2020
  • To her, that refusal to back down necessary to force change.
    oregonlive, 28 June 2020
  • The blockage forces the heart to work harder and can lead to cardiac damage.
    The Enquirer, 9 May 2023
  • Or don’t force the defense to collapse enough on drives and try to pass through clogged lanes.
    Khobi Price, Orlando Sentinel, 4 Oct. 2022
  • The agency would not be forced to remove all products from the market.
    Joshua M. Sharfstein, STAT, 21 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'force.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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