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Extort vs Coerce - What's the difference?

extort | coerce |

In transitive terms the difference between extort and coerce

is that extort is to wrest from an unwilling person by physical force, menace, duress, torture, or any undue or illegal exercise of power or ingenuity; to wrench away (from); to tear away; to wring (from); to exact; as, to extort contributions from the vanquished; to extort confessions of guilt; to extort a promise; to extort payment of a debt while coerce is to use force, threat, fraud, or intimidation in attempt to compel one to act against his will.

extort

English

(Webster 1913)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To wrest from an unwilling person by physical force, menace, duress, torture, or any undue or illegal exercise of power or ingenuity; to wrench away (from); to tear away; to wring (from); to exact; as, to extort contributions from the vanquished; to extort confessions of guilt; to extort a promise; to extort payment of a debt.
  • (legal) To obtain by means of the offense of extortion.
  • (transitive, and, intransitive, medicine, ophthalmology) To twist outwards.
  • Derived terms

    * extortion * extortionate * extortionist

    See also

    * intort

    coerce

    English

    Verb

    (coerc)
  • To restrain by force, especially by law or authority; to repress; to curb.
  • to use force, threat, fraud, or intimidation in attempt to compel one to act against his will.
  • (computing) to force an attribute, normally of a data type, to take on the attribute of another data type.
  • Synonyms

    * compel * bully * dragoon

    Derived terms

    * coercion * coercer * coercee * coercible