the.com/duress
The legal word for 'I only agreed because you had a gun, metaphorically or otherwise.'
means Pressure, threats, or force used to make someone do something against their actual will.
from From Latin durus, meaning 'hard' — the same root that gives us 'durable' and 'endure.' The word traveled through Old French durece/duresse ('harshness, severity') before landing in English in the 1300s, originally meaning harsh treatment or imprisonment itself, not just the pressure it created. Over time it narrowed into its legal sense: the hardness isn't just in the treatment anymore, but in the impossible position it forces you into.
- legal use
- Voids contracts signed under threat or coercion
- etymology
- From Latin durus, meaning hard or harsh
- criminal defense
- Can excuse crimes committed to avoid imminent harm
- not duress
- Just really wanting the deal doesn't count