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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in forced
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Recent Examples of compelled
Stuart Dyos, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
Bianca felt compelled to share footage of her experience after seeing other parents express similar frustrations on social media.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Baswel said she was compelled to tell the story after connecting her own experiences in the precarious labor force with the workers who lost their lives during construction of the center.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Sep. 2025
These factors have compelled Lennar to rely more on sales incentives to maintain its sales momentum.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Afonso, who works in the Healey administration’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said he was compelled to push for a recount to provide certainty for District 7 voters after one of the closest preliminary elections in recent city history.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
But the reunion was so monumental, even Camila Cabello, estranged from her former bandmates since leaving in 2016, was compelled to leave four red heart emojis underneath their post.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Under CBAs, developers can be compelled to meet certain requirements intended to help the surrounding area, such as building affordable housing units, leasing commercial space to local businesses and selecting local artists for any commissions.
—Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
At some point in the near future, a government will likely be compelled to impose unpopular austerity measures and address the deficits in the pension system.
—Jenni Reid, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Drivers were asked to describe their aggressive behaviors, situations that compelled aggressive driving, emotions felt, coping strategies and road rage experiences.
—Stuart Dyos, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
Bianca felt compelled to share footage of her experience after seeing other parents express similar frustrations on social media.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Baswel said she was compelled to tell the story after connecting her own experiences in the precarious labor force with the workers who lost their lives during construction of the center.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Sep. 2025
These factors have compelled Lennar to rely more on sales incentives to maintain its sales momentum.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Afonso, who works in the Healey administration’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said he was compelled to push for a recount to provide certainty for District 7 voters after one of the closest preliminary elections in recent city history.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
But the reunion was so monumental, even Camila Cabello, estranged from her former bandmates since leaving in 2016, was compelled to leave four red heart emojis underneath their post.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 14 Sep. 2025
Under CBAs, developers can be compelled to meet certain requirements intended to help the surrounding area, such as building affordable housing units, leasing commercial space to local businesses and selecting local artists for any commissions.
—Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2025
At some point in the near future, a government will likely be compelled to impose unpopular austerity measures and address the deficits in the pension system.
—Jenni Reid, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compelled
Verb
-
Jacksonville forced San Francisco to turn the ball over four times.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The veteran guard has joined a new team in August in three of the last four seasons and after training camp in the fourth, she was forced to adapt to a different set of teammates and plays in a hurry.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Winters writes that this initial system of coerced labor didn’t go very well for the elites.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Like Netflix's popular 2015 docuseries Making a Murderer, The Yogurt Shop Murders explores unethical interrogation tactics used by law enforcement and questions of coerced confessions.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The bulk of the crowd fell quiet as those closest to the sign obliged.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Investors who obtain the visa aren’t obliged to reside in Greece.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
However, a driver is not legally obligated to submit to a field sobriety test, pre-arrest test or cheek swab at a DUI checkpoint, according to the Law Offices of Grech and Parker in Riverside.—
Sarah Linn,
Sacbee.com,
25 Sep. 2025
-
However, in its news release, NASA said it is no longer obligated to a specific number of resupply missions.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
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 30 Sep. 2025.
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