compulsive
Americanadjective
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compelling; compulsory.
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Psychology.
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pertaining to, characterized by, or involving compulsion.
a compulsive desire to cry.
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governed by an obsessive need to conform, be scrupulous, etc., coupled with an inability to express positive emotions.
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noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of compulsive
First recorded in 1595–1605; obsolete compulse, verb (from Latin compuls(us), past participle of compellere; see compulsion) + -ive
Explanation
Compulsive people have irresistible urges to do certain things, like a compulsive gossip who simply cannot keep a secret. If you're compulsive, you can't stop yourself from doing something, like compulsive counting of the sidewalk blocks on your way to school. There is sometimes an upside to compulsive behavior — like a compulsive desire to be the best hockey player, which makes you work hard to make it happen. Someone who has compulsive tendencies can be called a compulsive, the noun form of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing compulsive
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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Born a Crime
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The Pigman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
People in the U.S. need to wake up and not be compulsive: Quit buying things you really don’t need.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
"This unpredictability triggers the dopamine system, creating a compulsive cycle of seeking and anticipation," University of Leicester lecturer Quynh Hoang wrote.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
They claimed various Meta features encouraged compulsive use and evasion of parental controls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Along with keeping eyes on the ground, Saar passed along her compulsive will toward creation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
In fact, he was finding it almost impossible to do either, so scrambled were his powers of performance by the compulsive need for haste that invariably possessed him.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
