compel

[ kuhm-pel ]
See synonyms for: compelcompelledcompellingcompels on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),com·pelled, com·pel·ling.
  1. to force or drive, especially to a course of action: His disregard of the rules compels us to dismiss him.

  2. to secure or bring about by force.

  1. to force to submit; subdue.

  2. to overpower.

  3. Archaic. to drive together; unite by force; herd.

verb (used without object),com·pelled, com·pel·ling.
  1. to use force.

  2. to have a powerful and irresistible effect, influence, etc.

Origin of compel

1
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”

synonym study For compel

3. 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 words for compel

Other words from compel

  • com·pel·la·ble, adjective
  • com·pel·la·bly, adverb
  • com·pel·lent, adjective
  • com·pel·ler, noun
  • com·pel·ling·ly, adverb
  • pre·com·pel, verb (used with object), pre·com·pelled, pre·com·pel·ling.
  • un·com·pel·la·ble, adjective

Words that may be confused with compel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use compel in a sentence

  • Was he not my son-in-law, my ancient friend, for 20 years the master of great Rome, for 30 years the compeller of victory?

    Caesar and Cleopatra | George Bernard Shaw
  • But for all his incalculable indebtednesses, Wagner is the great initiator, the compeller of the modern period.

    Musical Portraits | Paul Rosenfeld
  • Jupiter is denominated by Homer the compeller of clouds: Juno receives them, and remits them in showers to plants and animals.

    Imaginary Conversations and Poems | Walter Savage Landor
  • Who, O Cloud-compeller, will do the slaughtering now, and into whose hand wilt thou put the shepherd's whip?

    Quo Vadis | Henryk Sienkiewicz
  • A new use for carborundum was found during the war when Uncle Sam assumed the rôle of Jove as "cloud-compeller."

    Creative Chemistry | Edwin E. Slosson

British Dictionary definitions for compel

compel

/ (kəmˈpɛl) /


verb-pels, -pelling or -pelled (tr)
  1. to cause (someone) by force (to be or do something)

  2. to obtain by force; exact: to compel obedience

  1. to overpower or subdue

  2. archaic to herd or drive together

Origin of compel

1
C14: from Latin compellere to drive together, from com- together + pellere to drive

Derived forms of compel

  • compellable, adjective
  • compellably, adverb
  • compeller, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012