Force vs. Effort — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 7, 2024
Force is about exerting physical power, whereas effort involves mental or physical exertion.
Difference Between Force and Effort
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Force is a physical quantity that causes an object to move or change its motion, often measured in units like newtons. It's a fundamental concept in physics, associated with pushing or pulling objects. Effort, on the other hand, signifies the use of physical or mental energy to accomplish a task. It's more about the intensity and dedication applied towards achieving a goal, regardless of the physical interaction.
While force is directly related to the laws of motion and can be quantitatively measured, effort is subjective and relates to personal experiences of exertion and determination. An individual's effort can vary greatly in similar situations depending on their motivation, stamina, and mental state. In contrast, the force applied to an object produces measurable effects according to physical laws, such as acceleration or deformation.
Effort can be applied without a direct physical impact, such as in studying or problem-solving, where the outcome is the result of mental exertion. Force, however, always involves a physical interaction that impacts an object's state or motion, making it a key concept in fields like mechanics and dynamics.
The effectiveness of effort is often gauged by the achievement of objectives or progress towards a goal, which can be influenced by factors like strategy, skill, and perseverance. The effectiveness of force is determined by its ability to cause a change in an object's motion or shape, which is predictable through physical principles and equations.
Comparison Chart
Nature
Physical power causing motion or change
Mental or physical exertion
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Measurement
Quantifiable (e.g., newtons)
Subjective, not easily quantifiable
Application
Always involves physical interaction
Can involve mental or physical activity
Related Fields
Physics, mechanics
Psychology, personal development
Outcome Determination
Physical laws, equations
Achievement of goals, personal progress
Compare with Definitions
Force
A physical action or movement caused by energy.
The force of the wind knocked over the tree.
Effort
The use of physical or mental energy to do something.
The project required a lot of effort from the entire team.
Force
The strength or energy applied in an action or movement.
She used all her force to open the stuck window.
Effort
An earnest or strenuous attempt.
Despite her efforts, she couldn't convince them.
Force
To cause something through pressure or necessity.
The circumstances forced him to make a tough decision.
Effort
An exertion of force or strength.
Lifting the heavy box took a great deal of effort.
Force
Compulsion or coercion.
The confession was obtained by force.
Effort
The force exerted by a machine or in a process.
The engine's effort was not enough to climb the hill.
Force
A group organized for a specific purpose.
The task force was assembled to address the crisis.
Effort
The act or result of trying hard.
His effort to learn the language was commendable.
Force
In physics, a force is any influence that, when unopposed, will change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (which includes to begin moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate.
Effort
The use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion.
Force
Strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement
He was thrown backwards by the force of the explosion
Effort
A difficult exertion of strength or will
It was an effort to get up.
Force
Coercion or compulsion, especially with the use or threat of violence
They ruled by law and not by force
Effort
A usually earnest attempt
Make an effort to arrive promptly.
Force
Mental or moral strength or power
The force of popular opinion
Effort
Something done or produced through exertion; an achievement
A play that was his finest effort.
Force
An organized body of military personnel or police
A British peacekeeping force
Effort
Force applied against inertia.
Force
A waterfall.
Effort
The force needed by a machine to accomplish work on a load.
Force
Make a way through or into by physical strength; break open by force
The back door of the bank was forced
Effort
The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.
It took a lot of effort to find a decent-sized, fully-furnished apartment within walking distance of the office.
He made a conscious effort to not appear affected by the stories in the paper.
Force
Make (someone) do something against their will
The universities were forced to cut staff
She was forced into early retirement
Effort
An endeavor.
Although he didn't win any medals, Johnson's effort at the Olympics won over many fans.
Force
The capacity to do work or cause physical change; energy, strength, or active power
The force of an explosion.
Effort
A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.
Force
Power made operative against resistance; exertion
Use force in driving a nail.
Effort
To make an effort.
Force
The use of physical power or violence to compel or restrain
A confession obtained by force.
Effort
To strengthen, fortify or stimulate
Force
Intellectual power or vigor, especially as conveyed in writing or speech.
Effort
An exertion of strength or power, whether physical or mental, in performing an act or aiming at an object; more or less strenuous endeavor; struggle directed to the accomplishment of an object; as, an effort to scale a wall.
We prize the stronger effort of his power.
Force
Moral strength.
Effort
A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.
Force
A capacity for affecting the mind or behavior; efficacy
The force of logical argumentation.
Effort
To stimulate.
Force
One that possesses such capacity
The forces of evil.
Effort
Earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something;
Made an effort to cover all the reading material
Wished him luck in his endeavor
She gave it a good try
Force
A body of persons or other resources organized or available for a certain purpose
A large labor force.
Effort
Use of physical or mental energy; hard work;
He got an A for effort
They managed only with great exertion
Force
A person or group capable of influential action
A retired senator who is still a force in national politics.
Effort
A series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end;
He supported populist campaigns
They worked in the cause of world peace
The team was ready for a drive toward the pennant
The movement to end slavery
Contributed to the war effort
Force
Military strength.
Effort
A notable achievement;
He performed a great deed
The book was her finest effort
Force
A unit of a nation's military personnel, especially one deployed into combat
Our armed forces have at last engaged the enemy.
Force
A vector quantity indicating the strength and direction of the capacity to accelerate a body. Newton's second law of motion states that a free body accelerates in the direction of the net force and that its acceleration is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to its mass.
Force
See fundamental force.
Force
(Baseball) A force play.
Force
To compel through pressure or necessity
I forced myself to practice daily. He was forced to take a second job.
Force
To gain by the use of force or coercion
Force a confession.
Force
To move or effect against resistance or inertia
Forced my foot into the shoe.
Force
To inflict or impose relentlessly
He forced his ideas upon the group.
Force
To put undue strain on
She forced her voice despite being hoarse.
Force
To increase or accelerate (a pace, for example) to the maximum.
Force
To produce with effort and against one's will
Force a laugh in spite of pain.
Force
To use (language) with obvious lack of ease and naturalness.
Force
To move, open, or clear by force
Forced our way through the crowd.
Force
To break down or open by force
Force a lock.
Force
To rape.
Force
To induce change in (a complex system) by changing one of its parameters
Greenhouse gases that force the earth's climate.
Force
(Botany) To cause to grow or mature by artificially accelerating normal processes.
Force
To put (a runner) out on a force play.
Force
To allow (a run) to be scored by walking a batter when the bases are loaded.
Force
(Games) To cause an opponent to play (a particular card).
Force
Strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigour; might; capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect.
The force of an appeal, an argument, or a contract
Force
Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion.
Force
(countable) Anything that is able to make a substantial change in a person or thing.
Force
A physical quantity that denotes ability to push, pull, twist or accelerate a body and which has a direction and is measured in a unit dimensioned in mass × distance/time² (ML/T²): SI: newton (N); CGS: dyne (dyn)
Force
Something or anything that has the power to produce a physical effect upon something else, such as causing it to move or change shape.
Force
(countable) A group that aims to attack, control, or constrain.
Reinforcemented increased the American force in the area to 9,000
Police force
Force
(uncountable) The ability to attack, control, or constrain.
Show of force
Force
(countable) A magic trick in which the outcome is known to the magician beforehand, especially one involving the apparent free choice of a card by another person.
Force
(legal) Legal validity.
The law will come into force in January.
Force
(legal) Either unlawful violence, as in a "forced entry", or lawful compulsion.
Force
Ability of an utterance or its element (word, form, prosody, ...) to effect a given meaning.
Force
|often|capitalized}}Star Wars A metaphysical and ubiquitous power from the fictional Star Wars universe created by George Lucas. See usage note.
Force
Synonym of police force
Force
A waterfall or cascade.
Force
(transitive) To violate (a woman); to rape.
Force
To exert oneself, to do one's utmost.
Force
(transitive) To compel (someone or something) to do something.
Force
(transitive) To constrain by force; to overcome the limitations or resistance of.
Force
(transitive) To drive (something) by force, to propel (generally + prepositional phrase or adverb).
Force
(transitive) To cause to occur (despite inertia, resistance etc.); to produce through force.
The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.
Force
(transitive) To forcibly open (a door, lock etc.).
To force a lock.
Force
To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress.
Force
To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.
Jones forced the runner at second by stepping on the bag.
Force
(whist) To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit that he/she does not hold.
Force
(archaic) To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
Force
(archaic) To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.
Force
(obsolete) To allow the force of; to value; to care for.
Force
To stuff; to lard; to farce.
Force
To stuff; to lard; to farce.
Wit larded with malice, and malice forced with wit.
Force
To constrain to do or to forbear, by the exertion of a power not resistible; to compel by physical, moral, or intellectual means; to coerce; as, masters force slaves to labor.
Force
To compel, as by strength of evidence; as, to force conviction on the mind.
Force
To do violence to; to overpower, or to compel by violence to one's will; especially, to ravish; to violate; to commit rape upon.
To force their monarch and insult the court.
I should have forced thee soon wish other arms.
To force a spotless virgin's chastity.
Force
To obtain, overcome, or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress; as, to force the castle; to force a lock.
Force
To impel, drive, wrest, extort, get, etc., by main strength or violence; - with a following adverb, as along, away, from, into, through, out, etc.
It stuck so fast, so deeply buried layThat scarce the victor forced the steel away.
To force the tyrant from his seat by war.
Ethelbert ordered that none should be forced into religion.
Force
To put in force; to cause to be executed; to make binding; to enforce.
What can the church force more?
Force
To exert to the utmost; to urge; hence, to strain; to urge to excessive, unnatural, or untimely action; to produce by unnatural effort; as, to force a conceit or metaphor; to force a laugh; to force fruits.
High on a mounting wave my head I bore,Forcing my strength, and gathering to the shore.
Force
To compel (an adversary or partner) to trump a trick by leading a suit of which he has none.
Force
To provide with forces; to reënforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to man; to garrison.
Force
To allow the force of; to value; to care for.
For me, I force not argument a straw.
Force
To use violence; to make violent effort; to strive; to endeavor.
Forcing with gifts to win his wanton heart.
Force
To make a difficult matter of anything; to labor; to hesitate; hence, to force of, to make much account of; to regard.
Your oath once broke, you force not to forswear.
I force not of such fooleries.
Force
To be of force, importance, or weight; to matter.
It is not sufficient to have attained the name and dignity of a shepherd, not forcing how.
Force
A waterfall; a cascade.
To see the falls for force of the river Kent.
Force
Capacity of exercising an influence or producing an effect; strength or energy of body or mind; active power; vigor; might; often, an unusual degree of strength or energy; especially, power to persuade, or convince, or impose obligation; pertinency; validity; special signification; as, the force of an appeal, an argument, a contract, or a term.
He was, in the full force of the words, a good man.
Force
Power exerted against will or consent; compulsory power; violence; coercion; as, by force of arms; to take by force.
Which now they hold by force, and not by right.
Force
Strength or power for war; hence, a body of land or naval combatants, with their appurtenances, ready for action; - an armament; troops; warlike array; - often in the plural; hence, a body of men prepared for action in other ways; as, the laboring force of a plantation; the armed forces.
Is Lucius general of the forces?
Force
Strength or power exercised without law, or contrary to law, upon persons or things; violence.
Force
Any action between two bodies which changes, or tends to change, their relative condition as to rest or motion; or, more generally, which changes, or tends to change, any physical relation between them, whether mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force; centrifugal force.
Thy tears are of no force to mollifyThis flinty man.
More huge in strength than wise in works he was.
Adam and first matron EveHad ended now their orisons, and foundStrength added from above, new hope to springOut of despair.
Force
A unit that is part of some military service;
He sent Caesar a force of six thousand men
Force
One possessing or exercising power or influence or authority;
The mysterious presence of an evil power
May the force be with you
The forces of evil
Force
(physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity;
Force equals mass times acceleration
Force
Group of people willing to obey orders;
A public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens
Force
A powerful effect or influence;
The force of his eloquence easily persuaded them
Force
An act of aggression (as one against a person who resists);
He may accomplish by craft in the long run what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one
Force
Physical energy or intensity;
He hit with all the force he could muster
It was destroyed by the strength of the gale
A government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man
Force
A group of people having the power of effective action;
He joined forces with a band of adventurers
Force
(of a law) having legal validity;
The law is still in effect
Force
To cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :
She forced him to take a job in the city
He squeezed her for information
Force
Urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate
Force
Move with force,
He pushed the table into a corner
Force
Impose or thrust urgently, importunately, or inexorably;
She forced her diet fads on him
Force
Squeeze like a wedge into a tight space;
I squeezed myself into the corner
Force
Force into or from an action or state, either physically or metaphorically;
She rammed her mind into focus
He drives me mad
Force
Do forcibly; exert force;
Don't force it!
Force
Cause to move along the ground by pulling;
Draw a wagon
Pull a sled
Force
Take by force;
Storm the fort
Common Curiosities
Is effort always associated with a positive outcome?
Not necessarily; despite significant effort, success is not guaranteed and can depend on various factors.
Can effort be measured in physical terms like force?
Effort is subjective and often related to personal dedication or mental exertion, making it difficult to quantify like force.
How does force relate to motion?
Force causes objects to move, stop, or change direction, as described by Newton's laws of motion.
What's the role of force in everyday life?
Force is fundamental in all physical interactions, from walking and lifting objects to driving and natural phenomena like gravity.
How do personal goals influence effort?
Personal goals can greatly motivate and direct the amount of effort one is willing to invest in a task.
Can mental effort be as exhausting as physical effort?
Yes, mental exertion can be just as taxing as physical labor, often leading to mental fatigue.
How can one increase their effort in a task?
Increasing effort can involve enhancing motivation, improving skills, adopting better strategies, and ensuring adequate rest and resources.
What is the relationship between effort and success?
Effort is often a critical component of success, but success also depends on factors like timing, opportunity, and external conditions.
What are the units used to measure force?
Force is typically measured in newtons (N) in the International System of Units (SI).
Can a small force create a big impact?
Yes, depending on the circumstances, such as leverage or the point of application, a small force can have a significant effect.
What factors can reduce the effectiveness of effort?
Lack of focus, poor strategy, inadequate resources, and low motivation can diminish the effectiveness of effort.
How does one's perception of effort change?
Perception of effort can change with experience, skill level, physical condition, and psychological factors like motivation.
How do principles of force apply to engineering and design?
Understanding force is crucial in engineering for designing structures, vehicles, machinery, and more, ensuring safety, efficiency, and functionality.
Is force always visible?
While the effects of force are observable, the force itself is an abstract concept represented through its impact on objects.
Can forces be both attractive and repulsive?
Yes, forces can attract, like gravity or magnetism, or repel, as seen with like charges in electromagnetism.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
