"to enforce your will on others"?

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Odessa Dawn

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Is "It's impossible to enforce your will on others" correctly worded, please?
 
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[Not a teacher]

Yes, it is.

To enforce your will on others.
To enforce my will on them.
To enforce your will over the world.
(...)
 

Raymott

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Not it isn't. You can force your will on others. 'Enforce' means something different.
 

Odessa Dawn

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Should I use "force" there, please?
 

MikeNewYork

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Not it isn't. You can force your will on others. 'Enforce' means something different.

I do not know what
Odessa Dawn mean with this sentence or its full context, and I know the difference between forcing and enforcing.

To compel or impose, for instance, obedience or a course of action on a person.

Is "... enforce his/your/its will on others" grammatically wrong in such cases?





 
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Raymott

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That's right. You can enforce a rule or a law. You can possibly enforce your rights or enforce your will in the world. 'Enforce' basically means 'put into force'. But the word Odessa wants is 'force'.
No, it's not grammatically wrong. It's semantically wrong. It means the wrong thing for that sentence.
 
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But the word Odessa wants is 'force'.

Odessa asked just whether the sentence was "correctly worded" or not.

But I understand your point, and certainly the difference of meaning between forcing and enforcing must be taken into consideration.
 
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