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compulsion

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compulsion

  • /kəmˈpʌlʃən/
  • [kʰəɱˈpʰʌlʃən] ~ [kʰɱ̩ˈpʰʌlʃn̩]

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Middle French compulsion, from Late Latin compulsiō, from Latin compellere (“to compel, coerce”); see compel.

noun compulsions

  1. countable, uncountable An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences. During the basketball game, I had a sudden compulsion to have a smoke.
  2. countable, uncountable The use of authority, influence, or other power to force (compel) a person or persons to act. From the opening of the City & South London Railway independent electric locomotives were used under compulsion of the Board of Trade.
  3. countable, uncountable The lawful use of violence (i.e. by the administration).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: obsession, coercion, irresistible impulse, force, forcible, duress, coercive, imposition, enforcement, oppression, urge, compulsory, requirement, constraint, mandatory, restraint

Translations

Every language

noun irrational need to perform some action

Españolcompulsión
Portuguêscompulsão
DeutschZwang, Zwangneurose
Românăconstrângere
Русскийпозы́в, жела́ние, поры́в porýv

noun use of power to force a person to act

Españolcoacción, coerción
Portuguêscompulsão
DeutschZwang
Русскийпринужде́ние prinuždénije
עבריתכְּפִיָּה k'fiyá, אֹנֶס ónes

noun lawful use of violence

Españolcoacción, coerción
Русскийпринужде́ние prinuždénije

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MLA

"compulsion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/compulsion. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

compulsion. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/compulsion

Chicago

"compulsion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/compulsion.

BibTeX
@misc{compulsion_2026,
  title = {compulsion},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/compulsion},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}