compulsion

American  

[kuhm-puhl-shuhn] / kəmˈpʌl ʃən /

noun

1. the act of compelling; constraint; coercion.

2. the state or condition of being compelled.

3. Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, especially one that is irrational or contrary to one's will.

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compulsion British  

/ kəmˈpʌlʃən /

noun

1. the act of compelling or the state of being compelled

2. something that compels

3. psychiatry an inner drive that causes a person to perform actions, often of a trivial and repetitive nature, against his or her will See also obsession

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compulsion Cultural  

1. In psychology, an internal force that leads persons to act against their will. A “compulsive” act cannot be controlled: “Smith was a compulsive gambler.”

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Other Word Forms

• noncompulsion
  noun
• precompulsion
  noun

Etymology

Origin of compulsion

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin compulsiōn- (stem of compulsiō ), equivalent to Latin compuls ( us ), past participle of compellere to compel ( com- com- + pul- variant stem + -sus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Let's say you have a secret. You've promised not to tell, but there's something forcing you to call a friend and spill the beans. This force is compulsion, that urge to do something even though you know you shouldn't. If you go back to the Latin, you find compulsus, the past participle of the verb compellere, "to compel." You can see the connection with our word compulsion, which means "something compelling." The word gained a more psychological meaning in 1909 in a translation of Freud’s studies, suggesting a type of neurosis that impels a person to do things in an obsessive manner.

Example Sentences

"Compulsion" follows the journey of "The Diary of Anne Frank"

From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2022

He then appeared in Broadway stage productions such as Compulsion, later reprising his role in the screen adaptation of the same name.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2021

Sandra Bullock is on their tail in this partial retread of the Leopold and Loeb case that inspired Rope, Compulsion and Swoon.

From The Guardian • Oct. 11, 2018

Dr. David Greenfield, a University of Connecticut psychiatry professor and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction developed a Smartphone Compulsion Test to help determine if phone use is problematic.

From New York Times • May 2, 2017

Everything was forgotten in the struggle: the Kaiser's illness, Sir Ian Hamilton's despatch, the Compulsion Bill, the Quakers and their consciences, the deficiencies of the Blockade.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, January 26, 1916 by Seaman, Owen, Sir

Related Words

• coercion
• obsession
• preoccupation
• urgency