coact

C3O1A1C3T1
UK/kəʊˈakt/

verb

To compel, constrain, force.

Similar
cooperate
OriginLatin cōgō →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

coact1

verbcoact (third-person singular simple present coacts, present participle coacting, simple past and past participle coacted)

present singular third person coacts · participle present coacting · participle past coacted · past coacted

  1. obsoleteTo compel, constrain, force.

    The faith and service of Christ ought to be voluntary and not coacted.

    1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC
adjectivecoact (comparative more coact, superlative most coact)

comparative more coact · superlative most coact

  1. obsoleteForced, constrained, done under compulsion.

    too much solitariness[…]is either coact, enforced, or else voluntary.

    1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York: New York Review Books, published 2001, →ISBN, page 244

coact2

verbcoact (third-person singular simple present coacts, present participle coacting, simple past and past participle coacted)

present singular third person coacts · participle present coacting · participle past coacted · past coacted · alternative co-act

  1. rareTo work together.

    Synonyms: cooperate

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo work together.

Similar
cooperate
Also see
cooperate

Origin

coact · verb, adjective

  1. Latincōgō
  2. Englishcoact

From the participle stem of Latin cōgō.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

coact · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Latinco-
  7. Englishco-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éǵeti
  10. Proto-Italic*agō
  11. Latinagō
  12. Latināctus
  13. Latinācta
  14. Old Frenchact
  15. Middle Englishacte
  16. Englishact
  17. Englishcoact

From co- + act.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish coaccionar
  • coaccionarto compel, constrain, force
Cite this entry
APA

coact. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coact

MLA

“coact.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coact. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coact,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coact.

Source: coact on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.