compel
to force or drive, especially to a course of action: His disregard of the rules compels us to dismiss him.
to secure or bring about by force.
to force to submit; subdue.
to overpower.
Archaic. to drive together; unite by force; herd.
to use force.
to have a powerful and irresistible effect, influence, etc.
Origin of compel
1synonym study For compel
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
Its precise, level tone and attention to detail lend his narratives a force and immediacy that compel our attention.
‘Eddie’s Boy,’ by Thomas Perry, continues the saga of a retired hit man who can’t escape his past | Bill Sheehan | November 29, 2020 | Washington PostAll of this will complicate attempts by companies and other institutions to compel individuals to get a covid vaccine.
When the next crisis occurs, federal agencies will feel compelled to rescue not only our financial system but also our leading banking-and-commercial conglomerates.
Why it would be a huge mistake to allow Big Tech firms to acquire banks | jakemeth | November 26, 2020 | FortuneMany public health experts have compared the effort to compel Americans to wear masks during the pandemic to the decades-long struggle to persuade people to wear seatbelts.
Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator. | by Annie Waldman and Heather Vogell | November 23, 2020 | ProPublicaGoogle was compelled to create a “search choice” screen for Android users upon setup of a new device.
Is Apple getting real about search and about to take on Google? | Greg Sterling | August 27, 2020 | Search Engine Land
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 ShawBut for all his incalculable indebtednesses, Wagner is the great initiator, the compeller of the modern period.
Musical Portraits | Paul RosenfeldJupiter 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 LandorWho, O Cloud-compeller, will do the slaughtering now, and into whose hand wilt thou put the shepherd's whip?
Quo Vadis | Henryk SienkiewiczA 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
/ (kəmˈpɛl) /
to cause (someone) by force (to be or do something)
to obtain by force; exact: to compel obedience
to overpower or subdue
archaic to herd or drive together
Origin of compel
1Derived 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
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