compulsion means an irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences. It carries an Arena rating of 1675, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, compulsion ranks #781 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,509 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,714 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,724 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
compulsion is pronounced /kəmˈpʌl.ʃən/.
Why “compulsion” is a great word
An irresistible, often irrational urge to perform an act, or the act of compelling someone by force or authority. From Middle English compulsion, borrowed from Anglo-French compulsion, from Late Latin compulsiōn-, compulsiō, from Latin compellere ("to drive together, force, compel"). Unlike obsession, which is the static haunt of an unwelcome thought, or coercion, which is an external threat, compulsion is the driven motion it demands—a private, internal engine, a pressure as intimate as one’s own pulse. It is the hand washed raw, the lock checked a fifth time, the foot avoiding the sidewalk crack; the ritualized action that promises relief from a torment it only perpetuates. The mind does not will it, it simply obeys, caught in the quiet tyranny of its own fierce obedience.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French compulsion, from Late Latin compulsiō, from Latin compellere (“to compel, coerce”); see compel.
noun
- An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.e.g.“During the basketball game, I had a sudden compulsion to have a smoke.”
- The use of authority, influence, or other power to force (compel) a person or persons to act.e.g.“From the opening of the City & South London Railway independent electric locomotives were used under compulsion of the Board of Trade.” — 1941 May, “Jubilee of the City Tube”, in Railway Magazine, page 223:
- The lawful use of violence (i.e. by the administration).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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