compulsory
Americanadjective
-
required; mandatory; obligatory.
compulsory education.
- Antonyms:
- voluntary
-
using compulsion; compelling; constraining.
compulsory measures to control rioting.
- Antonyms:
- voluntary
noun
PLURAL
compulsoriesadjective
-
required by regulations or laws; obligatory
compulsory education
-
involving or employing compulsion; compelling; necessary; essential
Other Word Forms
- compulsorily adverb
- compulsoriness noun
- noncompulsorily adverb
- noncompulsorilyness noun
- noncompulsory adjective
- quasi-compulsorily adverb
- quasi-compulsory adjective
- uncompulsory adjective
Etymology
Origin of compulsory
1510–20; < Medieval Latin compulsōrius, equivalent to Latin compul-, variant stem of compellere ( compel ) + -sōrius, for -tōrius -tory 1; compulsive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Further east, Lithuania and Latvia have compulsory schemes, with cadets chosen by lottery.
From BBC
The Swiss will vote Sunday on replacing men's current military service requirement with a compulsory civic duty for all, with backers and opponents both claiming to be championing women's rights.
From Barron's
On Monday afternoon, the education ministry issued a press release saying the region's education office had confirmed that "compulsory schooling has been regularly completed through home education" legal in Italy, according to news agencies.
From Barron's
A British government spokesperson told AFP: "None of these claims have any factual basis. We have been clear: digital ID will not be compulsory, and it will not be a crime not to have one."
From Barron's
The 330-capacity venue said it had implemented compulsory antisemitism training for senior management and had made a donation to the Community Security Trust, which seeks to protect British Jews from antisemitism.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
