compulsion - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

com·pul·sion

Audio Help [kuh

m-puhl-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the act of compelling; constraint; coercion.

2.	the state or condition of being compelled.

3.	Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, esp. one that is irrational or contrary to one's will.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME (< AF) < LL compulsiōn- (s. of compulsiō), equiv. to L compuls(us), ptp. of compellere to compel (com- com- + pul- var. s. + -sus ptp. suffix) + -iōn- -ion

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
compulsion

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

com·pul·sion Audio Help (kəm-pŭl'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act of compelling.
2. The state of being compelled.
3. An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation: "The compulsion to protect the powerful from the discomfort of public disclosure feeds further abuse and neglect" (Boston Globe).
4. An act or acts performed in response to such an impulse.
1. An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation: "The compulsion to protect the powerful from the discomfort of public disclosure feeds further abuse and neglect" (Boston Globe).
2. An act or acts performed in response to such an impulse.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin compulsiō, compulsiōn-, from Latin compulsus, past participle of compellere, to compel; see compel.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
compulsion

1462, from M.Fr. compulsion, from L. compulsionem (nom. compulsio), from compulsus, pp. of compellere "compel." Psychological sense is from 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria," where Ger. Zwangsneurose is rendered as compulsion neurosis.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

compulsion
noun
1.	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"
2.	an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will; "her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly"
3.	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"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
compulsion [kəmˈpalʃən] noun

compelling or being compelled
Example: You are under no compulsion to go.

Arabic:	إكْراه، إجْبار، ضَغْط عَلى
Chinese (Simplified):	强迫
Chinese (Traditional):	強迫
Czech:	nátlak
Danish:	tvang
Dutch:	dwang
Estonian:	sund(us)
Finnish:	pakko
French:	contrainte
German:	der Zwang
Greek:	υποχρέωση
Hungarian:	kényszer
Icelandic:	nauðung, þvingun
Indonesian:	paksaan
Italian:	costrizione

Japanese:	強制
Korean:	강요(당한 상태)
Latvian:	piespiešana
Lithuanian:	prievarta
Norwegian:	tvang
Polish:	przymus
Portuguese (Brazil):	compulsão
Portuguese (Portugal):	obrigação
Romanian:	constrângere
Russian:	принуждение
Slovak:	nátlak
Slovenian:	pritisk
Spanish:	obligación
Swedish:	tvång
Turkish:	zorlama, baskı

See also: compulsory

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
compulsion

In psychology, an internal force that leads persons to act against their will. A “compulsive” act cannot be controlled: “Smith was a compulsive gambler.”

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Compulsion

Com*pul"sion\, n. [L. compulsio. See Compel.] The act of compelling, or the state of being compelled; the act of driving or urging by force or by physical or moral constraint; subjection to force.

If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion. --Shak.

With what compulsion and laborious flight We sunk thus low. --Milton.

Syn: See Constraint.

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