compulsive

[ kuh m-puhl-siv ]

/ kəmˈpʌl sɪv /

adjective

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.

noun

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

Nearby words

compton-burnett, comptroller, comptroller general of the united states, comptroller of the currency, compulsion, compulsive, compulsive personality, compulsively, compulsory, compulsory purchase, compunction

Origin of compulsive

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

Related forms

com·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, adverb

qua·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. 2019

Examples from the Web for compulsively

Prisoners there became severely depressed: some began to compulsively mutilate themselves; others attempted suicide.
The One Photo a Prisoner Wants to See|Isabel Wilkinson|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Put aside Santorum, who compulsively froths, and Romney who (to reverse a Hebrew saying) is always a weathervane, never a compass.
Please Shut Up|Gershom Gorenberg|March 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I came across this book in high school, and read it compulsively.
Annette Gordon-Reed’s Book Picks|Annette Gordon-Reed|June 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Though an affable enough personality, Murdoch is a compulsively aggressive businessman.
Murdoch's Italian Offensive|Conrad Black|June 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The way my imagination works is that I compulsively imagine alternative scenarios to the situations in my life.
Way Out of Sarajevo|Jane Ciabattari|May 14, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Neither State nor National Government is dependent one upon the other, he said; neither can act "compulsively" upon the other.
The Life of John Marshall Volume 4 of 4|Albert J. Beveridge
She is spotless, obsessively purgatory, and compulsively tidy.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin
Other women might compulsively finish concealing themselves before snatching up the gun.
The Old Die Rich|Horace Leonard Gold
I compulsively tell friends and strangers about things that I like.
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom|Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for compulsively

compulsive

/ (kəmˈpʌlsɪv) /

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 compulsively

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.

Medicine definitions for compulsively

compulsive

[ kəm-pŭl′sĭv ]

adj.

Caused or conditioned by compulsion or obsession.

n.

A person with behavior patterns governed by a compulsion.

compulsive

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

Nearby words

Origin of compulsive

Examples from the Web for compulsively

British Dictionary definitions for compulsively

compulsive

adjective

noun

Word Origin and History for compulsively

compulsive

Medicine definitions for compulsively

compulsive

adj.

n.