Word of the Day

forcible \FOR-suh-buhl\, adjective:

1. Using force against opposition or resistance; effected or accomplished by force; as, "forcible entry or abduction."
2. Characterized by force, efficiency, or energy; powerful.

Robbery, the forcible taking of property from the person of the victim, is the crime most likely to be committed by a stranger; 75 percent of victims are robbed by strangers.
--Adam Walinsky, "The Crisis of Public Order," [1] The Atlantic, July 1995

The separation of religion from the state does not mean the establishment of irreligion by the state, still less the forcible imposition of an anti-religious philosophy.
--Bernard Lewis, "The Roots of Muslim Rage," [2] The Atlantic, September 1990

Mr. Wilson replied to Mr. Evarts in a forcible argument, wasting no words, and showing clearly that there was no precedent in any impeachment case tried by the Senate for granting so much delay at this stage of the proceedings.
--"President Johnson's Answer to the Charges and Specifications," [3] New York Times, March 23, 1868

It was a masterpiece, the Cincinnati Daily Gazette declared, "the most pointed and most forcible political letter ever written."
--"Thomas Jefferson: Radical and Racist," [4] The Atlantic, October 1996

Forcible ultimately derives from Latin fortis, "strong."