as in obsessive
caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge
his compulsive clowning around can sometimes be annoying
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Recent Examples of compulsive
Burse points out that ignoring pain or sickness to stick to a workout plan is a red flag for compulsive behavior.
—
Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Jack’s hunt for the treasure is seen as compulsive, almost an addiction, which triggered conflicting emotions in the filmmaker.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Mar. 2025
This has driven the island to increase defense spending in recent years and extend compulsive military service to one year from four months.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
And with conditions like OCD, suppressing anxiety can lead to compulsive behaviors—such as repeating certain phrases or avoiding specific people or places—in an attempt to neutralize fear, which often backfires and worsens it.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsive
Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Jack’s hunt for the treasure is seen as compulsive, almost an addiction, which triggered conflicting emotions in the filmmaker.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Mar. 2025
This has driven the island to increase defense spending in recent years and extend compulsive military service to one year from four months.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
And with conditions like OCD, suppressing anxiety can lead to compulsive behaviors—such as repeating certain phrases or avoiding specific people or places—in an attempt to neutralize fear, which often backfires and worsens it.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compulsive
Adjective
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Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley reprises his role as the charming yet obsessive serial killer, Joe, who is returning to where his story began: New York City.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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Issues of urban renewal, the value of public art, the difficulty of being married to an obsessive artist and lots more run through Workman’s film.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Research shows that suicide tends to be a fairly impulsive act during short-term crises.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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Research shows that those who score higher in emotional intelligence are less impulsive and better able to persist through difficult tasks.—
Kevin Kruse,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Compulsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsive. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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