compulsion
[ kuh m-puhl-shuh n ]
/ kəmˈpʌl ʃən /
noun
the act of compelling; constraint; coercion.
the state or condition of being compelled.
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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RELATED WORDS
coercion, obsession, urgency, preoccupation, duty, urge, force, exigency, driving, constraint, prepossession, hang-up, drive, pressure, engrossment, necessity, demand, need, duress, monkey
Nearby words
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- compton-burnett,
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- compulsive,
- compulsive personality,
- compulsively,
- compulsory,
- compulsory purchase
Origin of compulsion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for compulsion
compulsion
/ (kəmˈpʌlʃən) /
noun
the act of compelling or the state of being compelled
something that compels
psychiatry an inner drive that causes a person to perform actions, often of a trivial and repetitive nature, against his or her willSee also obsession
Word Origin for compulsion
C15: from Old French, from Latin compellere to compel
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
compulsion
early 15c., from Middle French compulsion, from Latin compulsionem (nominative compulsio) "a driving, urging," noun of action from past participle stem of compellere "compel" (see compel). Psychological sense is from 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria," where German Zwangsneurose is rendered as compulsion neurosis.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
compulsion
[ kəm-pŭl′shən ]
n.
An uncontrollable impulse to perform an act, often repetitively, as an unconscious mechanism to avoid unacceptable ideas and desires which, by themselves, arouse anxiety.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
compulsion
In psychology, an internal force that leads persons to act against their will. A “compulsive” act cannot be controlled: “Smith was a compulsive gambler.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.