Compulsion — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid

an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈʌmək/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈɪstɹɪtbjˌuːtɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈɪstɹɪtbjˌuːtɪŋ/

3 syllables Say it as /kˈʌmək/.

Examples

he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident
her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly
though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

irresistible impulse coercion obsession

Parts of Speech

noun	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”
noun	an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will “her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly”
noun	using force to cause something to occur “though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game”

Word Forms

compulsive	adjective	caused by or suggestive of psychological compulsion
compulsive	noun	a person with a compulsive disposition; someone who feels compelled to do certain things
obsessional	adjective	characterized by or constituting an obsession
compel	verb	force somebody to do something
coerce	verb	to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Zwang

ein Drang, etwas zu tun oder zu sagen, das besser unterlassen oder unausgesprochen bleiben sollte

🇪🇸Spanish

compulsión

una necesidad de hacer o decir algo que sería mejor dejar de hacer o no decir

🇮🇹Italian

costrizione

il bisogno di fare o dire qualcosa che sarebbe meglio non fare o non dire

🇳🇱Dutch

dwang

een drang om iets te doen of te zeggen dat beter ongedaan of onuitgesproken kan blijven

🇵🇹Portuguese

compulsão

um desejo de fazer ou dizer algo que seria melhor deixar de fazer ou não dizer

🇷🇺Russian

принуждение

желание сделать или сказать что-то, что лучше было бы не делать или не говорить

India

🇮🇳Hindi

बाध्यता

कुछ ऐसा करने या कहने की इच्छा जिसे अधूरा या अनकहा छोड़ देना बेहतर हो सकता है

🇧🇩Bengali

বাধ্যতা

এমন কিছু করার বা বলার তাগিদ যা পূর্বাবস্থায় বা না বলা ভাল থাকতে পারে

🇮🇳Tamil

கட்டாயம்

செய்யாத அல்லது சொல்லாமல் விடக்கூடிய ஒன்றைச் செய்ய அல்லது சொல்ல ஒரு தூண்டுதல்

🇮🇳Telugu

బలవంతం

చేయని లేదా చెప్పకుండా వదిలేస్తే మంచిగా ఏదైనా చేయాలనే కోరిక

🇮🇳Marathi

सक्ती

असे काहीतरी करण्याची किंवा बोलण्याची इच्छा जी पूर्ववत किंवा न सांगितली जाऊ शकते

🇮🇳Gujarati

મજબૂરી

કંઈક કરવા અથવા કહેવાની વિનંતી જે પૂર્વવત્ અથવા ન કહેવાયેલી છોડી દેવામાં આવે તે વધુ સારી રીતે હોઈ શકે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಒತ್ತಾಯ

ಯಾವುದನ್ನಾದರೂ ಮಾಡಲು ಅಥವಾ ಹೇಳಲು ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಚೋದನೆಯು ಉತ್ತಮವಾಗಿ ಬಿಡಬಹುದಾದ ಅಥವಾ ಹೇಳದೆ ಬಿಡಬಹುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിർബന്ധം

ചെയ്യാത്തതോ പറയാത്തതോ ആയ എന്തെങ്കിലും ചെയ്യാൻ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പറയാനുള്ള പ്രേരണ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਜਬੂਰੀ

ਕੁਝ ਅਜਿਹਾ ਕਰਨ ਜਾਂ ਕਹਿਣ ਦੀ ਤਾਕੀਦ ਜਿਸ ਨੂੰ ਅਣਡਿੱਠ ਜਾਂ ਅਣਕਹੇ ਛੱਡ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

مجبوری

کچھ کرنے یا کہنے کی ترغیب جس کو بہتر طور پر رد یا نہ کہا گیا چھوڑ دیا جائے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

强迫性

想要做或说一些最好不做或不说的事情

🇯🇵Japanese

強制

やらないほうがいい、あるいは言わないほうがよいかもしれないことをしたり言いたいという衝動

🇰🇷Korean

강제

하지 않거나 말하지 않는 것이 더 나을 수도 있는 일을 하거나 말하고 싶은 충동

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự ép buộc

sự thôi thúc làm hoặc nói điều gì đó mà tốt hơn là nên hoàn tác hoặc không nói

🇹🇭Thai

การบังคับ

ความปรารถนาที่จะทำหรือพูดบางสิ่งที่อาจดีกว่าปล่อยทิ้งไว้หรือไม่ได้พูด

🇮🇩Indonesian

paksaan

dorongan untuk melakukan atau mengatakan sesuatu yang mungkin lebih baik dibiarkan atau tidak diucapkan

🇵🇭Filipino

pamimilit

isang pagnanasa na gawin o sabihin ang isang bagay na maaaring mas mabuting iwanan o hindi sabihin

🇲🇾Malay

paksaan

dorongan untuk melakukan atau mengatakan sesuatu yang mungkin lebih baik dibiarkan atau tidak diucapkan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

إكراه

الرغبة في فعل أو قول شيء قد يكون من الأفضل تركه دون القيام به أو عدم قوله

🇮🇷Persian

اجبار

اصرار برای انجام یا گفتن چیزی که بهتر است انجام نشود یا ناگفته بماند

🇹🇷Turkish

zorlama

Yapılmaması veya söylenmemesi daha iyi olabilecek bir şeyi yapma veya söyleme dürtüsü

🇮🇱Hebrew

כּוֹרַח

דחף לעשות או לומר משהו שאולי עדיף לבטל או להיאמר

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'compulsion'?

The primary meaning of 'compulsion' is 'an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'compulsion' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'compulsion' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'compulsion' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'compulsion' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'compulsion' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'compulsion' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'compulsion' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'compulsion' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'compulsion' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'compulsion' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted