compel
English · Thesaurus
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compel
- /kəmˈpɛl/
Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.
verb compels · compelling · compelled
- To drive together, round up. The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall.
- To overpower; to subdue. She had one of those perfect faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man.
- To force, constrain, or coerce. Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.
-
To forcefully or powerfully motivate (a course of action).
As the novel progresses, it picks up a propulsive energy, the kind that compels you to keep reading straight through to the end.
Similar: necessitate
- To have a strong, irresistible force (on someone or something).
- To exact, extort, (make) produce by force. Commissions, which compel from each / The sixth part of his substance.
- To force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate. Easy sleep their weary limbs compell'd.
- To gather or unite in a crowd or company. in one troop compell'd
- To call forth; to summon. She had this knight from far compeld.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: oblige, require, command, obligate, enforce, coerce, constrain, coercive, forcible, forced, impose, get, induce, persuade, prevail, convince
Translations
Every language
verb overpower
| Deutsch | bezwingen, unterwerfen |
|---|---|
| Русский | подчиня́ть podčinjátʹ |
verb drive together, round up
| Русский | собира́ть sobirátʹ |
|---|
verb force, constrain or coerce
| Español | compeler |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 강요하다 gang'yohada |
| 日本語 | 強いる shiiru |
| 中文 | 強迫 /强迫 qiǎngpò, qiángpò |
| हिन्दी | विवश करना vivaś karnā |
| Português | forçar, obrigar |
| Français | contraindre, forcer |
| Deutsch | zwingen, nötigen |
| Italiano | forzare, costringere, obbligare |
| Ελληνικά | αναγκάζω anagkázo, υποχρεώνω ypochreóno |
| Русский | заставля́ть zastavljátʹ, заста́вить zastávitʹ, принужда́ть prinuždátʹ, прину́дить prinúditʹ |
| العربية | أَكْرَهَ ʔakraha, أَجْبَرَ ʔajbara, اِضْطَرَّ iḍṭarra |
verb exact by force
| हिन्दी | विवश करना vivaś karnā |
|---|---|
| Français | obliger |
| Deutsch | zwingen |
| Русский | обя́зывать objázyvatʹ, вынужда́ть vynuždátʹ, обяза́ть objazátʹ, вы́нудить výnuditʹ |
Talk about this word "compel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/compel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. compel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/compel "compel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/compel.Cite this
@misc{compel_2026,
title = {compel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/compel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
