compel
Americanverb (used with object)
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compels,
present (3rd person singular)
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compelled,
past participle, past
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compelling
present participle
verb (used without object)
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compels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
compelled,
past participle, past
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compelling
present participle
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to use force.
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to have a powerful and irresistible effect, influence, etc.
verb
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to cause (someone) by force (to be or do something)
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to obtain by force; exact
to compel obedience
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to overpower or subdue
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archaic to herd or drive together
Synonym Usage
Compel, impel agree in the idea of using physical or other force to cause something to be done. Compel means to constrain someone, in some way, to yield or to do what one wishes: to compel a recalcitrant debtor to pay; Fate compels us to face danger and trouble. Impel may mean literally to push forward, but is usually applied figuratively, meaning to provide a strong motive or incentive toward a certain end: Wind impels a ship. Curiosity impels me to ask.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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compellernoun
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precompelverb (used with object)
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compellableadjective
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compellentadjective
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uncompellableadjective
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compellablyadverb
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compellinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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compelsimple
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compelssimple
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have compelledperfect
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has compelledperfect
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am compellingprogressive
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are compellingprogressive
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is compellingprogressive
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have been compellingperfect progressive
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has been compellingperfect progressive
Past
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compelledsimple
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had compelledperfect
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was compellingprogressive
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were compellingprogressive
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had been compellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compel
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English compellen, from Anglo-French or directly from Latin compellere “to crowd, force,” equivalent to com- com- + pellere “to push, drive”
Explanation
Compel means to force or drive someone to do something. Even if you don't like toast, when you visit the toast-eating natives of Shrintakook Island, you'll be compelled to eat it, or they will not trust you. You don't want to be compelled to go to a classical music concert if you'd rather listen to rap. School officials might be upset if a winter storm compels them to cancel classes, but you'd be okay with that. A compelling mystery forces you to pay attention because you want to find out "whodunit."
Vocabulary lists containing compel
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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The Bill of Rights
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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.
See Examples For:
Posting on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said: "We must strive to compel the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed."
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
What would compel a consultant to dismiss signs that a candidate has contemptible views on sexual assault?
From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026
OTTAWA—Canada will abandon efforts to compel foreign streamers to make mandatory financial contributions to the domestic entertainment industry, according to a court filing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The lawsuit says Winters seeks financial damages and for the court to compel OpenAI to implement "reasonable safeguards that protect other users from harm".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Many people had put off their visits in the expectation that the nation’s worsening economic crisis and pressure from Congress eventually would compel the railroads to reduce their Chicago fares.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
It’s not just their goony sense of humor that compels them to make silly intro videos and do funny accents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
A subpoena compels a party to release specified internal documents or information.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
It is, as yet, a dud — a $2,000 slot machine that pays out a Community Note dressed as a verdict, in a process that compels nothing and binds no one.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
Fragmentation compels banks and asset managers to localize balance sheets and hold excess capital, constraining cross-border intermediation and dampening growth.
From Barron's ● Mar. 4, 2026
Here it is to be noted that a prince must avoid ever joining forces with one more powerful than himself to injure others, unless necessity compels you, as was mentioned above.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Ms. Eubanks was compelled to assume the role of rescuer, both because she loved him and because there was nobody else to fill the position.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
You cannot be compelled to serve as an executor, even if you’re named in someone’s will.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
So in effect, once the body has been heavier, the brain comes to treat that higher weight as the new normal – a level it feels compelled to defend.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Still, we should keep our focus where it belongs—not on Yale alone, but on the proposed OMB regulation that has compelled Yale’s submission.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
And another came during the evening, so that they were compelled to study with their nerves being plucked like banjo strings.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
But if one’s thinking about the geography that much, it means the story isn’t all that compelling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
For Gribble, one of the most compelling questions is how biological information can travel beyond a single generation.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
The problem was that the 37-year-old assemblywoman couldn’t quite manage to assemble a compelling narrative from all those memorable, resonant elements.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
Aiming for middle-of-the-road returns could still be a compelling strategy if the midcaps produced superior risk-adjusted performance.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Would anything, I wondered, ever seem more compelling to them than the Internet?
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions 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.
