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compulsory

[ kuhm-puhl-suh-ree ]
/ kəmˈpʌl sə ri /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR compulsory

adjective

required; mandatory; obligatory: compulsory education.
using compulsion; compelling; constraining: compulsory measures to control rioting.

noun, plural com·pul·so·ries.

something, as an athletic feat, that must be performed or completed as part of a contest or competition: The ice skater received a higher score on the compulsories than on her freestyle performance.

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Origin of compulsory

1510–20; <Medieval Latin compulsōrius, equivalent to Latin compul-, variant stem of compellere (see compel) + -sōrius, for -tōrius-tory1; cf. compulsive

ANTONYMS FOR compulsory

1, 2 voluntary.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR compulsory

OTHER WORDS FROM compulsory

Words nearby compulsory

Comptroller General of the United States, Comptroller of the Currency, compulsion, compulsive, compulsive personality, compulsory, compulsory purchase, compunction, compunctious, compurgation, compurgator
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to compulsory

forced, mandatory, required, obligatory, imperative, de rigueur, imperious, necessary, requisite

Example sentences from the Web for compulsory

British Dictionary definitions for compulsory

compulsory
/ (kəmˈpʌlsərɪ) /

adjective

required by regulations or laws; obligatorycompulsory education
involving or employing compulsion; compelling; necessary; essential

Derived forms of compulsory

compulsorily, adverbcompulsoriness, 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