compulsion
nounattested in dialogue
- //kəmˈpʌlʃən//
- /[kʰəɱˈpʰʌlʃən] ~ [kʰɱ̩ˈpʰʌlʃn̩]/
An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.
noun
- 1
An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.
During the basketball game, I had a sudden compulsion to have a smoke.
It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].
- 2
The use of authority, influence, or other power to force (compel) a person or persons to act.
From the opening of the City & South London Railway independent electric locomotives were used under compulsion of the Board of Trade.
But Treaty translator and Ottawa leader Andrew Blackbird described the Treaty as made “not with the free will of the Indians, but by compulsion.”
- 3
The lawful use of violence (i.e. by the administration).
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French compulsion, from Late Latin compulsiō, from Latin compellere (“to compel, coerce”); see compel.
Forms
- plural
- compulsions
compulsion · An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.
compulsive · Uncontrolled or reactive and irresistible.computer · A programmable electronic device that performs mathematical…comrade · A mate, companion, or associate.