com·pul·sion
Audio Help [kuh
m-puhl-shuh
n] Pronunciation Key
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. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
compulsion
To learn more about compulsion visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| com·pul·sion
Audio Help (kəm-pŭl'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin compulsiō, compulsiōn-, from Latin compulsus, past participle of compellere, to compel; see compel.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| 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" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
compulsion [kəmˈpalʃən] noun
compelling or being compelled
Example: You are under no compulsion to go.
See also: compulsoryExample: You are under no compulsion to go.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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