Question

Choose the most appropriate alternative meaning to the given idiom/phrase.
UNDER DURESS
a. With superstition
b. According to merit
c. Under compulsion
d. In good faith

Answer 1

Hint: The phrase ‘under duress’ is used to refer to situations where a person has to do something because he / she is being threatened or pressurized.

Complete step-by-step answer:

 ‘Under duress’ is an idiom. Idioms are phrases that have a metaphorical meaning. Their true meaning does not lie in their face value, but in a metaphor that represents the sum of their parts. We can guess the meaning of this phrase from the word ‘duress’ which is part of this idiom. The word duress implies a threat. Thus, when you are under duress, you are likely to do something that you would not otherwise do because someone is threatening you.
Let us look at an example.
The prisoner confessed to his crime under duress.
Here, we can see that the prisoner admits his crime as he is placed in a compromising situation. The prisoner may not have originally given a confession in order to save himself. But, as a result of physical threat, he admits to having committed the crime. Thus, we can see how this phrase is used when a person is being manipulated by the use of threats.
Now, let us look at the question. We have been asked to choose the alternative which means the same as ‘under duress’. This meaning is best described by the words under compulsion as we have seen above. Therefore, the option ‘c’ is the correct answer.

Note: If you don’t know the meaning of this phrase, you can break it down and look at its component words individually so as to comprehend its meaning.