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
Jack Fink, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
Your position urging Broward County to choose resiliency over regret reflected exactly why so many residents felt compelled to speak up.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
If the stock dips below the short put strike, one will be compelled to buy IVZ at $22.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026
In the 2000 Subway Series, the only time the Yankees and Mets met for the heavyweight title, naked fear compelled the Yanks to prevail in five games.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
The 38-year-old, a regular at ongoing weekend protests outside ICE’s Broadview processing center, said he felt compelled to come to O’Hare and apply his training in documenting federal agents.
—Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
The Grizzly Creek fire, which started in Glenwood Canyon, compelled an unprecedented two-week shutdown of Interstate 70, one of the nation’s most critical freight and travel corridors.
—Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 23 Mar. 2026
Many of these people felt compelled to be ideal workers who put work before everything else in their lives.
—Elana Feldman, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
As a collaborator with Fleming for the first Red Rooster, he was compelled by Overtown’s history to help make Red Rooster Miami a thriving cultural spot.
—Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 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
Discussions were had at those meetings, and every single thing that has happened has been compelled by council action.
—Jack Fink, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
Your position urging Broward County to choose resiliency over regret reflected exactly why so many residents felt compelled to speak up.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
If the stock dips below the short put strike, one will be compelled to buy IVZ at $22.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026
In the 2000 Subway Series, the only time the Yankees and Mets met for the heavyweight title, naked fear compelled the Yanks to prevail in five games.
—Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
The 38-year-old, a regular at ongoing weekend protests outside ICE’s Broadview processing center, said he felt compelled to come to O’Hare and apply his training in documenting federal agents.
—Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
The Grizzly Creek fire, which started in Glenwood Canyon, compelled an unprecedented two-week shutdown of Interstate 70, one of the nation’s most critical freight and travel corridors.
—Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 23 Mar. 2026
Many of these people felt compelled to be ideal workers who put work before everything else in their lives.
—Elana Feldman, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026
As a collaborator with Fleming for the first Red Rooster, he was compelled by Overtown’s history to help make Red Rooster Miami a thriving cultural spot.
—Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compelled
Adjective
-
Running parallel to the concern about creating a backdoor—or dozens of backdoors—for product dumping and tariff evasion is a long-running imperative to keep products made with forced labor out of the American market, Conklin said.—
Kate Nishimura,
Sourcing Journal,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Crucially, the experience didn’t feel fake or forced.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Present and correct, just in smaller quantities than previously, and now obliged to make polite conversation with Alexandra Champalimaud’s additions.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Mar. 2026
-
The difference is that, while Carolyn struggles to define herself against expectation, John has always obliged expectation.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And despite widespread reporting about coerced conscription in Russia, Ukraine has engaged in the same practice, with some new recruits sent to the front without adequate training.—
Olivier Kempf,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Deradicalization is equally vital—not as a coerced reeducation, but as part of a healing process that encompasses Israelis as well as Palestinians.—
Samer Sinijlawi,
The Atlantic,
13 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
She was obligated to sing her big barnstormers on loop, which offered fans a cruel barometer by which to judge her decline.—
Matt Weinstock,
New Yorker,
25 Mar. 2026
-
In 2025, the number of loans increased by 11%, and the amount of dollars obligated increased by 19% compared to 2024.—
Patricia Kime,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 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 30 Mar. 2026.
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