How to Use compulsive in a Sentence

compulsive

adjective

• Greene was a compulsive gambler who shrugged off the loss of pot loads of money.
  — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023
• Rob-Will is compulsive in his need to do the wrong thing every time.
  — William Earl, Variety, 3 July 2026
• But the compulsive workouts only left him more tired, more on edge.
  — The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Oct. 2020
• One is the financial side, and then one is kind of just the compulsive use side.
  — Torie Bosch, STAT, 11 Apr. 2026
• Tevye is famous—in the stories as well—for his compulsive need to quote the holy texts.
  — William Deresiewicz, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2014
• This predilection points to a compulsive hold on the life force that had propelled her from the start.
  — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2021
• Some of you may wonder how my wife puts up with living with a compulsive punster.
  — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2022
• Mazurek has found that adults with autism are more prone to compulsive video-game use than their typical peers.
  — Sarah Deweerdt, Science | AAAS, 22 June 2018
• Most people have met or known a compulsive giver in their lifetime.
  — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
• Remove the color—and therefore fun—from your screen to keep compulsive scrolling in check.
  — Cathryne Keller, SELF, 13 Aug. 2024
• And those behaviors can become out of hand or even compulsive.
  — refinery29.com, 1 May 2018
• But your wife’s compulsive smartphone use seems beyond the point of reason.
  — Annie Lane, oregonlive, 26 June 2021
• For the rest of the day, she’s freed from the compulsive, habit-forming pull of digital screens.
  — Raj Goyle, New York Daily News, 24 Jan. 2025
• So there’s something kind of compulsive about her desire to teach these lessons, in this very structured way.
  — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Dec. 2020
• Wildthorn is where compulsive, genre-bending stories live.
  — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
• Technology has raised the stakes for those with compulsive habits.
  — David A. Lieb, The Enquirer, 7 Sep. 2023
• Wallace got the compulsive danger right, but misplaced its form.
  — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2017
• As a travel writer and compulsive face-toucher, this has been a stressful time.
  — cleveland, 29 Mar. 2020
• And in some cases, nose-picking can become a compulsive habit, like biting your nails.
  — Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 4 Mar. 2023
• Grier isn’t obsessive-compulsive, but the senior does like to keep a neat house.
  — Matt Murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, 8 Apr. 2018
• The result is compulsive checking, like a gambler at a slot machine.
  — Adaira Landry, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
• Keep your crabby comments and compulsive shopping on the down-low — at least for those 10 days.
  — Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 20 Oct. 2023
• Bubbles is a heroin addict, and Royo had no idea how to play that level of compulsive need.
  — Sam Anderson, New York Times, 2 May 2018
• To compensate for these feelings, some of us may make a compulsive purchase in order to self-soothe.
  — Taayoo Murray, Essence, 4 Dec. 2023
• But please be aware that compulsive gambling is an addiction, and your fiance could fall off the wagon at any time.
  — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 12 July 2023
• Some of the toy-dog aspects of mobile computing remain, along with the compulsive ones, too.
  — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 9 June 2017
• The key signs of CHS are regular pot use and compulsive bathing.
  — Molly Sullivan, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024
• For people like Darr, with fixations on her face, masks can ease some of these compulsive symptoms.
  — Maria Morava and Scottie Andrew, CNN, 21 Feb. 2021
• This might be due to an obsession or compulsive behavior on someone’s part.
  — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2025
• And a compulsive politician is what Bill Clinton has been since high school—but not a ruthless one.
  — Joe Klein, Daily Intelligencer, 30 June 2017