COMPELS Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

compels

verb

present tense third-person singular of compel

as in obligates

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure public opinion compelled her to fire her scandal-plagued aide

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of compels Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline. — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026 However, the necessity of operating without a financial safety net compels one to internalize these lessons. — Shreyans Lodha, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026 And most of them did not choose the economic arrangement that compels them to burn that carbon, that splits labor and leisure in this way, that organizes work and pleasure around certain kinds of mobility. — Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026 The deal compels Facebook and Instagram to adopt new child-safety rules, including daily time caps, school-hour notification bans, stronger age checks and expanded parental controls aimed at harmful content. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Washington also opposed another streaming regulation, known as Bill 109, passed in Quebec last December, which compels streaming platforms to prioritize French-language content. — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026 Frank’s ruling keeps the proposal to raise the homestead exemption up to $250,000 for Florida property owners on the ballot, but compels Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite parts of the plan. — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026 Every drop hits like a quake, and each muscular beat compels you to shake your ass. — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026 When systemic failures persist, lawsuits are the catalyst that compels meaningful reform and protects children who cannot protect themselves. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 26 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for compels

Verb

Being a Zionist no more obligates us to support every Israeli policy than being an American patriot requires supporting every policy of our government.

— Scott Levin, Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2026
City staff told commissioners that the development agreement obligates the developer to build a bridge.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of obligates

Verb

However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025

Definition of coerces

Verb

The stabs at humor also fall flat, even if the gimmick of a priest injecting his enemies with a serum that obliges them to attend mass every Sunday is kind of fun the first time, but not really the second or third.

— Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 11 Sep. 2026
And Ric Salinas, who plays Chachalacani, humorously obliges, bringing his Culture Clash vaudeville skills to the role of the sentry who’s caught between the rock of Klion’s tyranny and his fellow feeling for Antíkona’s sympathetic cause.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of obliges

Verb

Writing strips out the reactive tone that damages trust and forces people to engage with the actual argument instead of the way it was said.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Maya runs away from her pain by traveling the world, first to Portugal and then to London and Japan, but an unexpected romance forces her to confront her past and realize that there may be more than one love of her life.

— Ellise Shafer, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of forces

Verb

The ability for employees to find the best opportunities for themselves and for employers to find the best candidates for the job help to drive innovation, which drives productivity, which drives growth, Richardson has said.

— Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Oscar drives her home and, paralyzed by the situation, leaves her unconscious at her family’s door.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of drives

Verb

Walking through it, which the work impels one to do, shows that the six sections of Shift afford a sequence of passages down into and across the terrain.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
And so, our mission – grounded in both truth and love – impels us to discern the motives that shape events, and the shifts in thought that drive human progress through higher ideals of justice, mercy, and wisdom.

— Christa Case Bryant, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2025

Definition of impels

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compelling

compels

compend

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“Compels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compels. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of compels

verb

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