compulsive

[kuh m-puhl-siv]

See more synonyms for compulsive on Thesaurus.com

adjective

compelling; compulsory.
Psychology.
1. pertaining to, characterized by, or involving compulsion: a compulsive desire to cry.
2. governed by an obsessive need to conform, be scrupulous, etc., coupled with an inability to express positive emotions.

noun

Psychology. a person whose behavior is governed by a compulsion.

Origin of compulsive

1595–1605; obsolete compulse v. (< Latin compuls(us), past participle of compellere; see compulsion) + -ive

Related formscom·pul·sive·ly, adverbcom·pul·sive·ness, com·pul·siv·i·ty

[kuh m-puhl-siv-i-tee, kom-puhl-] /kəm pʌlˈsɪv ɪ ti, ˌkɒm pʌl-/, nounnon·com·pul·sive, adjectivenon·com·pul·sive·ly, adverbqua·si-com·pul·sive, adjectivequa·si-com·pul·sive·ly, adverbun·com·pul·sive, adjectiveun·com·pul·sive·ly, adverb

Can be confusedcompulsive impulsive impetuous (see synonym study at impetuous)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for compulsive

enthusiastic, passionate, uncontrollable, irresistible, compelling, overwhelming, urgent, besetting

Examples from the Web for compulsive

Contemporary Examples of compulsive

His detail seeking in our meetings is compulsive and a little nuts.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Sex and passion; compulsive, life-changing, soul-altering sex, all to be made more explicit than he had done in the past.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Compulsive writing, or hypergraphia, is a well-known, if uncommon, symptom of temporal lobe epilepsy.
The Seizure Medication That Turns You Into a Poet
Cat Ferguson
September 12, 2014
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.
Does Porn Cause Brain Shrinkage In Men?
Emily Shire
May 31, 2014
Sunday came and I was in better spirits; things were settling down, although there was that compulsive gum-chewing habit.
After War: Anger, Panic, and Sometimes Peace
Benjamin Tupper
June 26, 2013

Historical Examples of compulsive

"Compulsive gambling is a sickness," she said, looking at me thoughtfully.
Card Trick
Walter Bupp AKA Randall Garrett
In and of themselves as existences both are equally realistic and compulsive.
Essays in Experimental Logic
John 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 Thompson
Everard Meynell
Pray think of some compulsive Act, that may inforce them to marry me and you.
The Levellers
Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for compulsive

compulsive

adjective

relating to or involving compulsion

noun

psychiatry an individual who is subject to a psychological compulsion

Derived Formscompulsively, adverbcompulsiveness, 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

Word Origin and History for compulsive

adj.

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 in Medicine

compulsive

[kəm-pŭl′sĭv]

adj.

Caused or conditioned by compulsion or obsession.

A person with behavior patterns governed by a compulsion.