{"id":361194,"date":"2013-01-28T16:34:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T21:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/dictionary\/definition\/force.html"},"modified":"2013-01-28T16:34:14","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T21:34:14","slug":"force","status":"publish","type":"dictionary","link":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/definition\/force.html","title":{"rendered":"Force"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

term:<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n\n
\n

n<\/p><\/dt>\n

1<\/b> :<\/b> a cause of motion, activity, or change <\/p>\n

intervening force<\/b>
:<\/b> a force that acts after another’s negligent act or omission has occurred and that causes injury to another
:<\/b> intervening cause <\/a> at cause <\/a> <\/p>\n

irresistible force<\/b>
:<\/b> an unforeseeable event esp. that prevents performance of an obligation under a contract
:<\/b> force majeure <\/a>
2<\/b> :<\/b> a body of persons available for a particular end [the labor ]
;specif<\/i>
:<\/b> police force <\/a> usually used with the<\/i>
3<\/b> :<\/b> violence, compulsion, or constraint exerted upon or against a person or thing <\/p>\n

constructive force<\/b>
:<\/b> the use of threats or intimidation for the purpose of gaining control over or preventing resistance from another <\/p>\n

dead·ly force<\/b>
:<\/b> force that is intended to cause or that carries a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury compare nondeadly force<\/a> in this entry NOTE: As a general rule, deadly force may be used without incurring criminal or tort liability when one reasonably believes that one’s life or safety is in danger. In some cases, a person’s unreasonable belief in the need for deadly force has been used to justify reducing a charge of murder to voluntary manslaughter. Additionally, a police officer is generally justified in using deadly force to prevent the escape of a suspect who threatens the officer or who the officer has probable cause to believe has committed a violent crime. <\/i> <\/p>\n

lawful force<\/b>
:<\/b> force that is considered justified under the law and does not create criminal or tort liability compare unlawful force<\/a> in this entry <\/p>\n

mod·er·ate force<\/b>
[mÄ -də-rət-]
:<\/b> nondeadly force <\/a> in this entry <\/p>\n

non·dead·ly force<\/b>
:<\/b> force that is intended to cause minor bodily injury
;also<\/i>
:<\/b> a threat (as by the brandishing of a gun) to use deadly force called also moderate force<\/i> compare deadly force<\/a> in this entry <\/p>\n

reasonable force<\/b>
:<\/b> Lawful force that is reasonably necessary to accomplish a particular end (as preventing theft of one’s property) <\/p>\n

unlawful force<\/b>
:<\/b> force that is not justified under the law and therefore is considered a tort or crime or both compare lawful force<\/a> in this entry

in force<\/b>
:<\/b> valid and operative [a life insurance policy in force<\/i>]
<\/b>
vt forced<\/b>
forc·ing<\/b>
1 a<\/b> :<\/b> to compel by physical means often against resistance [forced<\/i> him into the car]
b<\/b> :<\/b> to break open or through [forced<\/i> the door] see also forcible entry<\/a>
2<\/b> :<\/b> to impose or require by law see also elective share<\/a> forced heir<\/i> at heir<\/a> forced sale<\/i> at sale<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Source: Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law \u00a91996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is ‘Force’? Learn more about legal terms and the law at FindLaw.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":358119,"menu_order":0,"template":"app\/Http\/Controllers\/Templates\/DictionaryArticleController.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","_autodraft_ids":[],"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"_sb_is_suggestion_mode":false,"_sb_show_suggestion_boards":false,"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_sb_suggestion_history":"","_sb_update_block_changes":"","_is_real_time_mode":false,"_realtime_collaborators":"","cf_checklist_status":[]},"dictionary_tags":[],"class_list":["post-361194","dictionary","type-dictionary","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionary\/361194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/dictionary"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionary\/358119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"dictionary_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dictionary.findlaw.com\/law-api\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dictionary_tags?post=361194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}