Pressure Someone Into Doing vs. Pressure Someone To Do
Oxford documents both pressure + object + into + -ing and pressure + object + to-infinitive for persuading someone strongly, often against their preference. The verb use is especially associated with North American English; British English also uses pressurize in this sense, and noun constructions such as “put pressure on someone to do…” are separate.
Both are standard: “pressure someone into doing something” and “pressure someone to do something” can express strong persuasion, with different complement structures.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| strongly persuade/coerce with an -ing complement | pressure + person + into + -ing | Standard. |
| strongly persuade/coerce with a to-infinitive | pressure + person + to-infinitive | Also standard. |
| choice between the two | choose for sentence structure and emphasis | Do not label one universally correct and the other wrong. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you want the construction to foreground being driven into the resulting activity?
If yes: “Pressure someone into doing” is standard.
If no: “Pressure someone to do” is also standard when the to-infinitive fits the sentence.
Caveat: Both complement patterns are documented. The diagnostic helps with framing and emphasis; it is not a correctness test that bans the other standard construction.
Examples
They pressured her into signing the agreement.
“Into” plus -ing presents the action as the result of pressure.
They pressured her to sign the agreement.
The to-infinitive is also a documented standard complement.
The group was pressured into changing its plans.
The passive construction retains “into” + -ing.
Further guidance
Boundary
The verb use is especially associated with North American English; British English also uses pressurize in this sense, and noun constructions such as “put pressure on someone to do…” are separate.
Construction
Oxford documents both pressure + object + into + -ing and pressure + object + to-infinitive for persuading someone strongly, often against their preference.
Decision
Both are standard: “pressure someone into doing something” and “pressure someone to do something” can express strong persuasion, with different complement structures.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- pressure — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Pressure + object + into + -ing and pressure + object + to-infinitive constructions