Which word means to force people to comply with a rule or to accept something?

• A. Incentive
• B. Incidence
• C. Incipient
• D. Impose

Answer: (D)

To force people to comply with a rule or to accept something is best captured by impose. Impose means to lay down a rule, requirement, or burden with authority, making adherence mandatory rather than optional. You might say a government imposes a tax or a school imposes a dress code, signaling that people are expected to follow it. The other words describe different ideas: incentive is something that encourages action, not forcing it; incidence is the occurrence or rate of something; incipient means just beginning to happen or develop. So impose fits the sense of compelling compliance or acceptance.