Meaning

9 senses
  1. (transitive)To overpower; to subdue.

    bezwingen, unterwerfen

    подчиня́тьpodčinjátʹ

  2. (transitive)To force, constrain, or coerce.

    Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.

    Congratulations, your courage compels respect.

    zwingen, nötigen

    заставля́тьzastavljátʹ, заста́витьzastávitʹ, принужда́тьprinuždátʹ

    приму́шуватиprymúšuvaty, приму́ситиprymúsyty, зму́шуватиzmúšuvaty

    force somebody to do something

  3. (transitive)To forcefully or powerfully motivate (a course of action).

  4. (transitive)To have a strong, irresistible force (on someone or something).

  5. (transitive)To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.

    zwingen

    обя́зыватьobjázyvatʹ, вынужда́тьvynuždátʹ, обяза́тьobjazátʹ

    necessitate or exact

  6. (archaic, literally, transitive)To drive together, round up.

    The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall.

    собира́тьsobirátʹ

  7. (obsolete)To force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate.

  8. (obsolete)To gather or unite in a crowd or company.

  9. (obsolete)To call forth; to summon.

Examples

109 sentences
  1. Tom felt compelled to say something.

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  2. I felt compelled to do that.

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  3. I feel compelled to do that.

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  4. Tom felt compelled to do that.

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  5. I felt compelled to say something.

    deIch sah mich genötigt, etwas zu sagen.

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Translations

8 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
force, constrain or coerce:
Русский
By meaning 4
drive together, round up:
overpower:
force, constrain or coerce:
exact by force:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
overpower:
force, constrain or coerce:

Origin

From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compeller

From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

compels, compelling, compelled, compelled
Base formcompel · to compel
3rd person singularcompels
Present participlecompelling
Past simplecompelled
Past participlecompelled

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theycompel
he, she, itcompels

Past simpleLesson

all personscompelled

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave compelled
he, she, ithas compelled

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill compel

Synonyms

3 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

8 related words

Collocations

3 patterns
  • felt compelled to
  • felt compelled
  • compelled to do

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
compel — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto