as in pressure
the use of power to impose one's will on another
in that class I read books under compulsion that I ordinarily wouldn't have considered
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Recent Examples of compulsion
Run with a creative compulsion as Venus and Uranus harmonize!
—
Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026
Mania of the week Graphomania — obsessive compulsion to write, also known as scribomania.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Letters admitting compulsions and guilt Judge Lopez must also weigh whether letters Cox wrote to a judge in 1993 and 1995 will be admissible.
—Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 28 Feb. 2026
Here, Beethoven exerts a compulsion for triumphant glory.
—Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026
Mania of the week Graphomania — obsessive compulsion to write, also known as scribomania.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2026
Letters admitting compulsions and guilt Judge Lopez must also weigh whether letters Cox wrote to a judge in 1993 and 1995 will be admissible.
—Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 28 Feb. 2026
Here, Beethoven exerts a compulsion for triumphant glory.
—Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compulsion
Noun
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Traffic and school pressures brought on by growth concern people in the panhandle.—
John Marks,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
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Iran also kept up pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Some of these clouds could be thick enough to trigger launch constraints.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
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While efforts to curb reliance on virgin synthetics have largely centered on recycled polyester, that approach has faced cost, feedstock and scaling constraints.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Every culture initiative, every engagement survey, every pizza party lands on top of that coercion architecture and changes nothing.—
Charles Edward Gehrke,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
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Through favors and coercion, both couples vie for the approval of the elitist club’s Korean billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-hung), who struggles to manage her own scandal involving her second husband, Doctor Kim (Song Kang-ho).—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But my family also remembers the complexity of that time, stories of intimidation, families caught in the middle, because history is rarely simple.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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The bill now requires the NYPD to form a plan for how to address and limit obstruction, intimidation and physical injury.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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After an accidental explosion in a West Village bomb factory killed three Weathermen, those who survived, shaken by their friends’ deaths, swore off deadly violence.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
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Fugazi said, referencing her city’s struggle with gangs and violence.—
Connor Letourneau,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Compulsion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsion. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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