as in forced
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as in obliged
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
public opinion compelled her to fire her scandal-plagued aide
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Recent Examples of compelled
Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 19 June 2026
In defense of the players, San Francisco Archdiocese spokesman Peter Marlow stated that people of faith should not be compelled to suppress their convictions in public life.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
French Montana felt compelled to step in.
—Kelsie Hoffman, CBS News, 18 June 2026
Maybe the Cubs will feel compelled to make a more drastic lineup or roster move if these team-wide offensive issues persist into July when the sample size gets too big to ignore.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026
Both his great-grandmother and his grandmother, who co-wrote the screenplay, were child laborers once compelled to dig for ore in the desert.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 June 2026
Some of the providers could insist on a court order to be specifically compelled, said Gerstell.
—Caitlin Reilly, Fortune, 17 June 2026
If those studies are widely accepted as valid scientific work, then judges will be compelled to admit them as evidence in any lawsuits against said companies.
—ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Cats, however, remain autonomous, understanding the situation without feeling compelled to intervene unless there’s a direct benefit for themselves.
—Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 10 June 2026
Adjective
True personal data sovereignty requires systems that make compelled access technically impossible, not merely contractually discouraged.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
Iranian state television duly presented the agreement as proof that Iran had compelled America to accept its conditions, which helps explain the alarm in Israel and among Washington's hawks.
—Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 19 June 2026
In defense of the players, San Francisco Archdiocese spokesman Peter Marlow stated that people of faith should not be compelled to suppress their convictions in public life.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
French Montana felt compelled to step in.
—Kelsie Hoffman, CBS News, 18 June 2026
Maybe the Cubs will feel compelled to make a more drastic lineup or roster move if these team-wide offensive issues persist into July when the sample size gets too big to ignore.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 17 June 2026
Both his great-grandmother and his grandmother, who co-wrote the screenplay, were child laborers once compelled to dig for ore in the desert.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 June 2026
Some of the providers could insist on a court order to be specifically compelled, said Gerstell.
—Caitlin Reilly, Fortune, 17 June 2026
If those studies are widely accepted as valid scientific work, then judges will be compelled to admit them as evidence in any lawsuits against said companies.
—ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Cats, however, remain autonomous, understanding the situation without feeling compelled to intervene unless there’s a direct benefit for themselves.
—Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Scientific American, 10 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compelled
Adjective
-
The references to the Cure, New Wave, and Eighties bands never feel forced or overdone or too stuck in the past.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2026
-
His arguments often lack logic, and many of the debates feel forced.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
The landlord would go back to paying the full amount of their property-tax bill but would no longer be obliged to keep the apartments rent-stabilized — after taking care of a few essential steps along the way.—
Olivia Bensimon,
Curbed,
17 June 2026
-
Digital services are also obliged to implement an age verification mechanism that goes beyond self-declaration that the user is over 18 to protect them from accessing inappropriate or prohibited material.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 June 2026
Adjective
-
Such coerced displacement did not — and could not — extinguish rights guaranteed by a still-valid agreement.—
Shaun Chapoose,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
-
Russia has targeted the children through coerced adoption and family separation, forcing them to speak the Russian language and take on its cultural identity and customs — what’s known as Russification.—
Shahrzad Rasekh,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
Musicians aren’t obligated to do anything political as part of the job, and plenty of audiences appreciate when artists don’t preach partisan points of view.—
Marissa R. Moss,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
-
Ziller plans to go to the State Budget Committee on Thursday to ask for a series of payments to which the state is obligated, including $3 million for the Gary blight elimination program.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Traffic stops represent the most common nonvoluntary interaction between citizens and police officers in the U.S.—
Derek Epp,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2023
-
Of the 59 CEOs who departed S&P 500 firms last year, 30.5% were let go on a nonvoluntary basis, up from 22.1% in 2017, according to the Conference Board's 2019 CEO Succession Practices report.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Compelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compelled. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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