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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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
-
The San Diego Padres know pressure is on to make the playoffs this year.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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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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
-
The exchange between artist and patron, however, becomes corrosive, a tumultuous dynamic fueled by Van Buren’s megalomania and Tóth’s creative compulsion.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
This new era of AI can feel intimidating for the limited, human life forms that created it.—
Marc Zao-Sanders,
Harvard Business Review,
17 Dec. 2024
-
Only six years older than Crystal, the comedian still found Scorsese intimidating.—
Lester Fabian Brathwaite,
EW.com,
16 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The call came as Trump has declared a trade war on Canada and has threatened to use economic coercion to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, a position that has infuriated Canadians.—
Rob Gillies,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
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Moscow stepped up its economic coercion, political meddling, and military aggression to stymie its neighbors’ progress toward democracy and European integration.—
Alexander Vindman,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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By late afternoon, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said the Pacific Palisades fire had grown to 1,200 acres — threatening over 10,000 households and 13,000 structures.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA TODAY,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Extremely dangerous wildfires are threatening Southern California, including Los Angeles and Ventura counties.—
Marshall Shepherd,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Travel shaming is on the rise, fueled by concerns about climate change and post-pandemic travel attitudes.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA TODAY,
27 Dec. 2024
-
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 15 Apr. 2025.
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