GDict

compulsion

kәm'pʌlʃәn8 senses · 281 ms
Level C1GRE
local copy0 msLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0Wiktionary contributors
noun/kəmˈpʌlʃən/[kʰəɱˈpʰʌlʃən] ~ [kʰɱ̩ˈpʰʌlʃn̩]
  1. 1

    An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.countableuncountable

    • During the basketball game, I had a sudden compulsion to have a smoke.
  2. 2

    The use of authority, influence, or other power to force (compel) a person or persons to act.countableuncountable

    • From the opening of the City & South London Railway independent electric locomotives were used under compulsion of the Board of Trade.
    • But Treaty translator and Ottawa leader Andrew Blackbird described the Treaty as made “not with the free will of the Indians, but by compulsion.”
  3. 3

    The lawful use of violence (i.e. by the administration).countableuncountable

Nearby entries