Coattiva

Coattiva is the feminine form of the Italian adjective coattivo and is used to describe something that is imposed, compulsory, or enforced by authority rather than voluntary. The term is most common in legal, administrative, and policy contexts, where it characterizes measures, actions, or processes carried out under compulsion to ensure compliance.

In law and public administration, coattiva appears in expressions such as misure coatte (coercive measures), esecuzioni coatte, and riscossione coattiva (coercive collection). These terms refer to actions taken by courts, authorities, or service agencies to compel a party to fulfill obligations, such as payment of taxes, adherence to orders, or enforcement of judgments.

Linguistic notes: the word derives from Latin coactus, the past participle of cogere, meaning forced or compelled. In Italian, coattiva is used attributively to modify nouns (for example, una misura coattiva) and can be pluralized (le misure coatte).

Usage and nuance: coattiva carries a neutral to descriptive tone and signals coercion or enforcement rather than a moral judgment. It may be less common in everyday speech and is more typical in formal or technical writing. In contexts outside law, synonyms such as obbligatoria, forzata, or coerciva might be used depending on the sense.

See also: coattivo, coercizione, misure coercitive, riscossione coattiva.