Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
compel. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
compel, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
compel in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
compel you have here. The definition of the word
compel will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
compel, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kəmˈpɛl/
- Rhymes: -ɛl
- Hyphenation: com‧pel
Verb
compel (third-person singular simple present compels, present participle compelling, simple past and past participle compelled)
- (transitive, archaic, literally) To drive together, round up (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (transitive) To overpower; to subdue.
1917, Upton Sinclair, chapter 16, in King Coal:She had one of those perfect faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man.
- (transitive) To force, constrain or coerce.
Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.
1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Against my will, / As Pompey was, am I compell’d to set / Upon one battle all our liberties.
1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. , volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, , →OCLC:Wolsey […] compelled the people to pay up the whole subsidy at once.
December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:Sellafield compels this kind of gaze into the abyss of deep time because it is a place where multiple time spans – some fleeting, some cosmic – drift in and out of view.
- (transitive) To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.
1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Commissions, which compel from each / The sixth part of his substance.
1912, L. Frank Baum, chapter 14, in Sky Island:The Queen has nothing but the power to execute the laws, to adjust grievances and to compel order.
- (obsolete) To force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate.
1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:Easy sleep their weary limbs compell'd.
- (obsolete) To gather or unite in a crowd or company.
- (obsolete) To call forth; to summon.
, Homer, “Book V”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. , London: Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, , new edition, volume I, London: Charles Knight and Co., , 1843, →OCLC:the pow'rs that I compel / Shall throw thee hence, and make thy head run ope the gates of hel
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
force, constrain or coerce
- Arabic: أَكْرَهَ (ʔakraha), أَجْبَرَ (ar) (ʔajbara), اِضْطَرَّ (iḍṭarra)
- Armenian: ստիպել (hy) (stipel), հարկադրել (hy) (harkadrel)
- Azerbaijani: məcbur etmək
- Belarusian: прымуша́ць impf (prymušácʹ), прыму́сіць pf (prymúsicʹ), змуша́ць impf (zmušácʹ), зму́сіць pf (zmúsicʹ)
- Bulgarian: принужда́вам (bg) impf (prinuždávam), прину́дя pf (prinúdja), заста́вям (bg) impf (zastávjam), заста́вя (bg) pf (zastávja)
- Catalan: obligar (ca), forçar (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 強迫/强迫 (zh) (qiǎngpò, qiángpò)
- Czech: nutit (cs) impf, donutit (cs) pf, přinutit (cs) pf
- Dutch: dwingen (nl)
- Esperanto: devigi
- Finnish: pakottaa (fi), ajaa (fi)
- French: contraindre (fr), forcer (fr)
- Galician: apremar (gl), domear (gl), obrigar (gl)
- German: zwingen (de), nötigen (de)
- Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌿𐌾𐌰𐌽 (anaqiujan), 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (baidjan)
- Greek: αναγκάζω (el) (anagkázo), υποχρεώνω (el) (ypochreóno)
- Ancient: ἀναγκάζω (anankázō)
- Italian: forzare (it), costringere (it), obbligare (it)
- Japanese: 強いる (ja) (しいる, shiiru)
- Korean: 강요하다 (ko) (gang'yohada)
- Latin: compellō
- Macedonian: присилува impf (prisiluva), принудува impf (prinuduva)
- Maori: ā, uruhi
- Mongolian: албадах (mn) (albadax)
- Norwegian: tvinge
- Old English: nīedan
- Old Norse: nauðga
- Polish: zmuszać (pl) impf, zmusić (pl) pf
- Portuguese: forçar (pt), obrigar (pt)
- Russian: заставля́ть (ru) impf (zastavljátʹ), заста́вить (ru) pf (zastávitʹ), принужда́ть (ru) impf (prinuždátʹ), прину́дить (ru) pf (prinúditʹ)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: си̏лити impf, прѝсилити pf
- Roman: sȉliti (sh) impf, prìsiliti (sh) impf
- Slovak: nútiť impf, donútiť pf, prinútiť pf
- Slovene: prisiliti pf
- Spanish: obligar (es), forzar (es), compeler (es)
- Swedish: tvinga (sv)
- Ukrainian: приму́шувати (uk) impf (prymúšuvaty), приму́сити pf (prymúsyty), зму́шувати impf (zmúšuvaty), зму́сити pf (zmúsyty)
|
exact by force
- Armenian: պարտադրել (hy) (partadrel)
- Bulgarian: принужда́вам (bg) impf (prinuždávam), наси́лвам (bg) impf (nasílvam)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
- Czech: přinutit (cs) pf, přinucovat impf, vynutit pf, vynucovat impf
- Dutch: afdwingen (nl)
- Finnish: johtaa (fi), johdattaa (fi)
- French: obliger (fr)
- German: zwingen (de)
- Maori: uruhi
- Russian: обя́зывать (ru) impf (objázyvatʹ), вынужда́ть (ru) impf (vynuždátʹ), обяза́ть (ru) pf (objazátʹ), вы́нудить (ru) pf (výnuditʹ)
- Spanish: obligar (es), forzar (es), compeler (es)
|
Translations to be checked
References
- “compel”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “compel”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- Random House Webster’s Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.