DURESS

duress. Duress, n. constraint by confinement or menaces

---

Du″ress (?), n. [[OF. duresse, du�, hardship, severity, L. duritia, durities, fr. durus hard. See Dure.]] 1. 1. Hardship; constraint; pressure; imprisonment; restraint of liberty.
The agreements . . . made with the landlords during the time of slavery, are only the effect of duress and force. Burke. 2. 2. (Law) The state of compulsion or necessity in which a person is influenced, whether by the unlawful restrain of his liberty or by actual or threatened physical violence, to incur a civil liability or to commit an offense.