| / English Dictionary |
COMPULSION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Using force to cause something to occur
Example:
they didn't have to use coercion
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("compulsion" is a kind of...):
causation; causing (the act of causing something to happen)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "compulsion"):
constructive eviction; eviction (action by a landlord that compels a tenant to leave the premises (as by rendering the premises unfit for occupancy); no physical expulsion or legal process is involved)
Derivation:
compel (force somebody to do something)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
Example:
he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident
Synonyms:
compulsion; irresistible impulse
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("compulsion" is a kind of...):
irrational impulse (a strong spontaneous and irrational motivation)
Derivation:
compulsive (caused by or suggestive of psychological compulsion)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will
Example:
her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly
Synonyms:
compulsion; obsession
Classified under:
Nouns denoting goals
Hypernyms ("compulsion" is a kind of...):
irrational motive (a motivation that is inconsistent with reason or logic)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "compulsion"):
onomatomania (obsession with a particular word which the person uses repeatedly or which intrudes into consciousness)
Derivation:
compulsive (a person with a compulsive disposition; someone who feels compelled to do certain things)
compulsive (caused by or suggestive of psychological compulsion)
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