Forçados

Forçados is the masculine plural form of the past participle of the Portuguese verb forçar, meaning forced or compelled. As an adjective, forçados agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number, appearing as forçado (masc. sing.), forçada (fem. sing.), forçados (masc. pl.), or forçadas (fem. pl.). It also appears in compound tenses formed with auxiliary verbs such as ter or ser, as in foi forçado (he was forced) or tem forçado (has been forcing).

Etymology traces the verb forçar to the Latin root fortis, meaning strong, and through Romance languages such as French forcer and Spanish forzar. The sense evolved to denote making someone do something by force or coercion, rather than merely encouraging it.

Usage and nuance: forçados is used to describe people or actions characterized by coercion. Examples include "os prisioneiros foram forçados a trabalhar" (the prisoners were forced to work) and "ele foi forçado a assinar o documento" (he was forced to sign the document). In legal or historical contexts, the phrase "forçados políticos" can refer to individuals subjected to political coercion or exile. As an attribute, it emphasizes the absence of voluntariness.

Related terms include forçar (to force), coagir (to coerce), and coerção (coercion). The antonym is voluntário or voluntária, meaning voluntary.

See also: forçar, forçado, coação, coerção, voluntário.