compulsion
NounUS[kuhm-puhl-shuhn]/kəmˈpʌlʃən/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (3)
- an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid“he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident”Synonyms: irresistible impulseType of irrational impulse
- an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will“her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly”Synonyms: obsessionType of irrational motiveKinds onomatomania
- using force to cause something to occur“though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game”“they didn't have to use coercion”Synonyms: coercionType of causing, causationKinds eviction, constructive eviction
Word of the day · Sep 28About this word
onerousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Com·pul′sion noun
Origin: L. compulsio. See Compel.
The act of compelling, or the state of being compelled; the act of driving or urging by force or by physical or moral constraint; subjection to force.
If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion.— William Shakespeare
With what compulsion and laborious flight We sunk thus low.— John Milton
Synonyms: See Constraint.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54
The Devil's Dictionary
COMPULSION, n. The eloquence of power.