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
In response, Sarah’s emotional state swings between consternation and compulsion as her solitary writer’s retreat morphs into a poolside war of wills between stuffy dame and slightly unhinged French gamine.
—
Gráinne O'Hara Belluomo, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
Books The Faithless Generation Paul Baumann Traditional religion thrives in stable communities, not a world where innovators aim to ‘break things.’
Books
Lies, Damned Lies, and Ideology
John O’Sullivan
The ideological lie persists, demanding compulsion to enforce its vision.
—Mary Katharine Ham, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025
Adults who adopt this tactic are diagnosed with repetition compulsion.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
The compulsion to check emails late at night has diminished, and our company culture now fosters rest and recovery just as much as ambition and drive.
—Adam Stott, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Gráinne O'Hara Belluomo, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
Books The Faithless Generation Paul Baumann Traditional religion thrives in stable communities, not a world where innovators aim to ‘break things.’
Books
Lies, Damned Lies, and Ideology
John O’Sullivan
The ideological lie persists, demanding compulsion to enforce its vision.
—Mary Katharine Ham, National Review, 17 Apr. 2025
Adults who adopt this tactic are diagnosed with repetition compulsion.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
The compulsion to check emails late at night has diminished, and our company culture now fosters rest and recovery just as much as ambition and drive.
—Adam Stott, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compulsion
Noun
-
The sweltering conditions were perhaps an incidental metaphor for the pressure the industry is feeling as the global luxury industry experiences a troubling slowdown.—
Alice Pfeiffer,
CNN Money,
1 July 2025
-
Atlanta has clearly brought in personnel designed to push the pace on offense and applies intense perimeter pressure on defense.—
Kambui Bomani,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
-
The team is already looking to expand the model to account for real-world constraints, such as regional resource availability, cost, and lifecycle performance.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
-
Democratic governors pointed to financial constraints and anticipated federal funding cuts as primary reasons for reversing course.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
But since the end of World War II, American power has been rooted mostly in cooperation, not coercion.—
KORI SCHAKE,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
-
That the use of the tapes and threat of exposure of those tapes to get the women to comply with what Diddy wanted to do is an element of coercion in and of itself.—
Tracy Wright , Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
Police believe the extreme violence in the murder mirrors methods used by trafficking groups to punish their victims.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
People.com,
30 June 2025
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Critics argue that the phrase may incite antisemitic violence; Mamdani has countered that such interpretations are misguided.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Compulsion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsion. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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