compulsion
/kəm'pʌlʃn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A strong, irresistible impulse to perform an act, often against one's conscious will: An internal psychological force that drives a person to behave in a specific, sometimes repetitive, way, even if they do not want to or know it is unreasonable.
- The act of compelling or the state of being compelled: The use of force, pressure, or authority to make someone do something or to ensure that something happens.
Examples of Usage
Noun (Irresistible Impulse):
- She felt a compulsion to check if the door was locked every five minutes.
- His compulsion for order made him rearrange the books by color and height.
Noun (Act of Forcing):
- The confession was obtained under compulsion and was therefore inadmissible in court.
- They paid the fine not out of guilt, but out of compulsion.
Advanced Usage
"Under compulsion": Being forced to do something.
- The agreement was signed under compulsion, not by free will.
"A sense of compulsion": A strong feeling of being driven to act.
- He was driven by a powerful sense of compulsion to finish the work, even through the night.
Variants and Related Words
Compel (verb): To force or oblige someone to do something.
- The law compels all citizens to pay taxes.
Compulsive (adjective): Resulting from or relating to an irresistible impulse.
- He is a compulsive gambler.
Compulsory (adjective): Required by law or a rule; obligatory.
- Attendance at the safety briefing is compulsory.
Synonyms
- Urge: A strong desire or impulse.
- Obsession: An idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.
- Coercion: The practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
- Duress: Threats, violence, constraints, or other action used to coerce someone into doing something against their will or better judgment.
Related Phrases
- "Act on compulsion": To do something because one is forced or driven by an inner impulse.
- She didn't want to argue; she was acting purely on compulsion.
Related Idioms
- "By compulsion, not by choice": Done because one is forced, not because one wants to.
- Many of the early settlers worked the land by compulsion, not by choice.
Noun
- using force to cause something to occur
- though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game
- they didn't have to use coercion
- an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will
- her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly
- an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
- he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident