compulsion

[kuh m-puhl-shuh n] /kəmˈpʌl ʃən/
noun
1.
the act of compelling; constraint; coercion.
2.
the state or condition of being compelled.
3.
Psychology. a strong, usually irresistible impulse to perform an act, especially one that is irrational or contrary to one's will.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin compulsiōn- (stem of compulsiō), equivalent to Latin compuls(us), past participle of compellere to compel (com- com- + pul- variant stem + -sus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
noncompulsion, noun
precompulsion, noun
Can be confused
compulsion, compunction.
Examples from the web for compulsion
  • Even in compulsion neuroses, which retain the same fundamentals, much is found that is different.
  • Any measures designed to restrict human population growth directly must involve compulsion to be effective.
  • Rather, they suffer from a gambling compulsion-a ruinous addiction to risk.
  • It is used in chess when compulsion to make a move leads to the loss.
  • And she didn't actually feel a compulsion to pull out her hair.
  • It was a compulsion-to make things right-that extended to his work in mathematics.
  • Not execution, of course, but regulation and compulsion.
  • Enthusiasm contended with a sense of futility, and the urge to create with the compulsion to destroy.
  • We have a compulsion to plan our lives, to take into account all possible adversities and to guard against them.
  • There are undoubtedly people who work longer hours out of personal ambition, to escape problems at home, or from compulsion.
British Dictionary definitions for compulsion

compulsion

/kəmˈpʌlʃən/
noun
1.
the act of compelling or the state of being compelled
2.
something that compels
3.
(psychiatry) an inner drive that causes a person to perform actions, often of a trivial and repetitive nature, against his or her will See also obsession
Word Origin
C15: from Old French, from Latin compellere to compel
Word Origin and History for compulsion
n.

early 15c., from Middle French compulsion, from Latin compulsionem (nominative compulsio) "a driving, urging," noun of action from past participle stem of compellere "compel" (see compel). Psychological sense is from 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria," where German Zwangsneurose is rendered as compulsion neurosis.

compulsion in Medicine

compulsion com·pul·sion (kəm-pŭl'shən)
n.
An uncontrollable impulse to perform an act, often repetitively, as an unconscious mechanism to avoid unacceptable ideas and desires which, by themselves, arouse anxiety.

compulsion in Culture

compulsion definition


In psychology, an internal force that leads persons to act against their will. A “compulsive” act cannot be controlled: “Smith was a compulsive gambler.”