Compulsion Meaning
/kəmˈpʌl.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.
nounThe use of authority, influence, or other power to force (compel) a person or persons to act.
Sentence Examples
He could not control his compulsion to kill.
He was not sure he could fight the compulsion to run.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt a strong ____ to check his phone every few minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a strong financial ____ to gamble his savings away.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French compulsion, from Late Latin compulsiō, from Latin compellere (“to compel, coerce”); see compel.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […]."
— 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
"From the opening of the City & South London Railway independent electric locomotives were used under compulsion of the Board of Trade."
— 1941 May, “Jubilee of the City Tube”, in Railway Magazine, page 223:
"But Treaty translator and Ottawa leader Andrew Blackbird described the Treaty as made “not with the free will of the Indians, but by compulsion.”"
— 2016 January 17, “Wealthy cabals run America”, in Al Jazeera America, retrieved 18 Jan 2016:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt a strong ____ to check his phone every few minutes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He had a strong financial ____ to gamble his savings away.