duress

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English duresse, from Old French duresse, from Latin dūritia (“hardness”), from dūrus (“hard”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /djʊˈɹɛs/, /d͡ʒʊˈɹɛs/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /duˈɹɛs/, /dəˈɹɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs
• Hyphenation: du‧ress

Noun

duress (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) Harsh treatment.
   • 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 323:

     […] the agreements […] made with their landlords, during the time of ſlavery, are only the effect of dureſſe and force; […].

2. Constraint by threat.
   • 2023 October 17, Kim Willsher, “Mother of French-Israeli hostage begs for her return as Hamas releases video”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     It is unclear when it was filmed and if she was under duress during filming.

3. (law) Restraint in which a person is influenced, whether by lawful or unlawful forceful compulsion of their liberty by monition or implementation of physical enforcement; legally for the incurring of civil liability, of a citizen's arrest, or of subrogation, or illegally for the committing of an offense, of forcing a contract, or of using threats.

Derived terms

• duress of circumstances
• duress password

Related terms

• endure

Translations

constraint by threat

• Arabic: إكْرَاه (ar) m (ʔikrāh)
• Belarusian: прыму́с m (prymús), прыну́ка f (prynúka)
• Bulgarian: принуда (bg) f (prinuda)
• Czech: nátlak (cs) m, donucení n, pohrůžka (cs) f
• Danish: tvang (da) c
• Dutch: dwang (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: painostus (fi), pakottaminen (fi)
• French: contrainte (fr) f
• German: Zwang (de) m, Nötigung (de) f
• Ido: please add this translation if you can
• Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: coazione (it) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tvang (no)

  Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can

• Persian: اکراه (fa)
• Portuguese: pressão (pt), coerção (pt)
• Romanian: obligare prin forță f, constrângere (ro) f
• Russian: принужде́ние (ru) (prinuždénije), давле́ние (ru) (davlénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: èiginn f
• Spanish: coacción (es) f
• Swedish: tvång (sv)
• Ukrainian: при́мус (uk) m (prýmus), зму́шування n (zmúšuvannja)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can

confinement; imprisonment

• Belarusian: зняво́ленне n (znjavóljennje)
• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: please add this translation if you can
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: vankeus (fi), vanginta
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: please add this translation if you can
• Ido: please add this translation if you can
• Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: confino (it) m, prigionia (it) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: please add this translation if you can

  Nynorsk: please add this translation if you can

• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: заточе́ние (ru) (zatočénije), тюре́мное заключе́ние (tjurémnoje zaključénije)
• Scottish Gaelic: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: ув'я́знення n (uvʺjáznennja)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can

Verb

duress (third-person singular simple present duresses, present participle duressing, simple past and past participle duressed)

1. To put under duress; to pressure.

   Someone was duressing her.

   The small nation was duressed into giving up territory.

Derived terms

• duressor

Further reading

• “duress”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Druses, Suders, druses, sudser