as in pressure
the use of power to impose one's will on another
it took some arm-twisting, but they eventually agreed to make a donation
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Recent Examples of arm-twisting
David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
After a long day of arm-twisting and internal party clashes, House Republicans on Tuesday narrowly passed their plan to advance President Donald Trump's legislative agenda.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025
But after some arm-twisting from a publisher, her journals were soon released as a book.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2025
What about the shrill speculations that nefarious Trumpian arm-twisting was involved which pressured Netanyahu to comply?
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Israel, often skeptical of UN solutions, would likely need some convincing to back a trusteeship, up to and including the type of U.S. arm-twisting seen recently over weapons shipments.
—Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024
After some arm-twisting by Mottola, the Recording Academy invited Martin to perform at the 41st Grammy Awards.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
Biden’s verbal arm-twisting should not be taken lightly.
—Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
The Bush administration and its successor worked hard in cooperation with Yeltsin to make that happen, using a series of inducements and diplomatic arm-twisting.
—Serhii Plokhy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2019
Noun
Thune has also tried to describe Trump’s arm-twisting of Zelensky in nobler language.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
After a long day of arm-twisting and internal party clashes, House Republicans on Tuesday narrowly passed their plan to advance President Donald Trump's legislative agenda.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025
But after some arm-twisting from a publisher, her journals were soon released as a book.
—Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2025
What about the shrill speculations that nefarious Trumpian arm-twisting was involved which pressured Netanyahu to comply?
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
Israel, often skeptical of UN solutions, would likely need some convincing to back a trusteeship, up to and including the type of U.S. arm-twisting seen recently over weapons shipments.
—Lloyd Axworthy, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2024
After some arm-twisting by Mottola, the Recording Academy invited Martin to perform at the 41st Grammy Awards.
—Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2024
Biden’s verbal arm-twisting should not be taken lightly.
—Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
The Bush administration and its successor worked hard in cooperation with Yeltsin to make that happen, using a series of inducements and diplomatic arm-twisting.
—Serhii Plokhy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arm-twisting
Noun
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As privacy changes reshape digital advertising and economic pressures demand greater efficiency, the cost of fragmented analysis is becoming impossible to ignore.—
Cody Greco,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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However, commercial pressures meant lyricists often wrote intros based solely on show titles, leading to more generic hooks, as seen in the show El Kaboos.—
Hala Mustafa,
Billboard,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Lynch’s installment, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Women in Hollywood, is executive produced by Angela Bassett and Academy Award winner Halle Berry, and highlights Black women who have led films while navigating a different set of expectations, constraints, and pressures.—
Essence,
Essence,
9 Apr. 2025
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For conservatives who genuinely care about limiting executive power and enforcing constitutional constraints, these tariffs present a moment of truth.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Instead, there was a fast, tough, physical team flying around and making big-time plays, bullying the big-boy Tar Heels.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
30 Dec. 2024
-
LeBron James scored 32 points one game after setting the NBA’s all-time minutes record for regular-season games, bullying the Kings on the offensive end while grabbing four steals on the defensive end.—
Dan Woike,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Every Wednesday, women in Iran would film videos of themselves walking unveiled, a peaceful protest against compulsion.—
Katrina Kaufman,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2025
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Creating collages is almost a compulsion, a way for Jarmusch to escape from the world and nestle into self-reflection.—
Renée Reizman,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Relapse is alluring, Bart is intimidating, and Son is mysterious.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2025
-
While the market’s recent volatility can be intimidating, experts generally recommend investors focus on their long-term goals.—
Ana Teresa Solá,
CNBC,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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What went cruelly overlooked was the larger effect of such coercion: lasting trauma for Schneider, whose outspokenness over the years about her experience typically went unnoticed.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The latest findings add to a growing list of evidence of deeply rooted, widespread malpractice and coercion in what the commission called a mass exportation of children to meet foreign demand.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This latest fire comes after a massive wildfire in the Pacific Palisades displaced 30,000 residents as fires burned over 2,900 acres, threatening over 10,000 homes.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
8 Jan. 2025
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An extreme wind event is threatening one of Los Angeles’ toniest neighborhoods, igniting fires through Pacific Palisades.—
Kimberly Nordyke,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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And make no mistake, travel shaming in the age of the internet is fun – at least for those doing the shaming.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA TODAY,
27 Dec. 2024
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Frazier, the woman with the Dubai video, said at first that the shaming comments upset her.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA TODAY,
27 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Arm-twisting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arm-twisting. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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