compulsive
- compelling; compulsory.
- Psychology.
- pertaining to, characterized by, or involving compulsion: a compulsive desire to cry.
- governed by an obsessive need to conform, be scrupulous, etc., coupled with an inability to express positive emotions.
- Psychology. a person whose behavior is governed by a compulsion.
Origin of compulsive
Related Words for compulsive
enthusiastic, passionate, uncontrollable, irresistible, compelling, overwhelming, urgent, besettingExamples from the Web for compulsive
Contemporary Examples of compulsive
His detail seeking in our meetings is compulsive and a little nuts.
Sex and passion; compulsive, life-changing, soul-altering sex, all to be made more explicit than he had done in the past.
Compulsive writing, or hypergraphia, is a well-known, if uncommon, symptom of temporal lobe epilepsy.
I think one of the main issues would be that there may be a subgroup of people who may run into problems with compulsive use.
Sunday came and I was in better spirits; things were settling down, although there was that compulsive gum-chewing habit.
Historical Examples of compulsive
"Compulsive gambling is a sickness," she said, looking at me thoughtfully.
Card TrickWalter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett
In and of themselves as existences both are equally realistic and compulsive.
Essays in Experimental LogicJohn Dewey
In the hopes of averting so abhorrent, but compulsive an alternative.
Social England under the Regency, Vol. 1 (of 2)John Ashton.
He still takes us by the throat, but his grip is not compulsive.
The Life of Francis ThompsonEverard Meynell
Pray think of some compulsive Act, that may inforce them to marry me and you.
The LevellersAnonymous
compulsive
- relating to or involving compulsion
- psychiatry an individual who is subject to a psychological compulsion
Word Origin and History for compulsive
c.1600, from French compulsif, from Latin compulsus, past participle of compellere (see compel). Psychological sense is from 1902. As a noun, attested from 1630s; psychological sense from 1957. Related: Compulsively; compulsiveness.
compulsive
(kəm-pŭl′sĭv)- Caused or conditioned by compulsion or obsession.
- A person with behavior patterns governed by a compulsion.