compulsive

com·pul·sive

adj \-ˈpəl-siv\

Definition of COMPULSIVE

1

: having power to compel

2

: of, relating to, caused by, or suggestive of psychological compulsion or obsession <compulsive actions> <a compulsive gambler>

— com·pul·sive·ly adverb

— com·pul·sive·ness noun

— com·pul·siv·i·ty \kəm-ˌpəl-ˈsi-və-tē, ˌkäm-\ noun

Examples of COMPULSIVE

1. <his compulsive clowning around can sometimes be annoying>

First Known Use of COMPULSIVE

1588

Related to COMPULSIVE

Synonyms: besetting, driven, impulsive, obsessional, obsessive

Related Words: irrepressible, uncontrollable; automatic, instinctive, involuntary, knee-jerk, reflex, spontaneous; conditioned, mechanical; unconscious, unthinking, unwitting; capricious, unpredictable, whimsical

Near Antonyms: unforced, voluntary, willful (or wilful); controllable, manageable, resistible

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Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with COMPULSIVE

convulsive, expulsive, impulsive, propulsive, repulsive, revulsive