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
But at what cost? The compulsion to be right often blinds us to alternative perspectives, limits our creative problem-solving, and stifles growth.
—
Glenn Llopis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
Gondry expands his eclectic filmography with this rejuvenating fantasia, revealing another facet of his creativity (and confessing a certain compulsion; when Maya declines to provide a title for a next short, his reaction is priceless).
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2025
Overcoming the compulsions, the siren’s call, the lowest-common-denominator, tabloid, casino effect of everything in a very competitive attention environment where we’re driven toward the lowest common denominator.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 1 Feb. 2025
The compulsion for constant doing defends you from feeling unpleasant emotions and gives you safety and security even if the task itself is satisfying.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Glenn Llopis, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
Gondry expands his eclectic filmography with this rejuvenating fantasia, revealing another facet of his creativity (and confessing a certain compulsion; when Maya declines to provide a title for a next short, his reaction is priceless).
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2025
Overcoming the compulsions, the siren’s call, the lowest-common-denominator, tabloid, casino effect of everything in a very competitive attention environment where we’re driven toward the lowest common denominator.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 1 Feb. 2025
The compulsion for constant doing defends you from feeling unpleasant emotions and gives you safety and security even if the task itself is satisfying.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compulsion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compulsion
Noun
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However, commercial pressures meant lyricists often wrote intros based solely on show titles, leading to more generic hooks, as seen in the show El Kaboos.—
Hala Mustafa,
Billboard,
28 Mar. 2025
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The San Diego Padres know pressure is on to make the playoffs this year.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Lynch’s installment, Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Women in Hollywood, is executive produced by Angela Bassett and Academy Award winner Halle Berry, and highlights Black women who have led films while navigating a different set of expectations, constraints, and pressures.—
Essence,
Essence,
9 Apr. 2025
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For conservatives who genuinely care about limiting executive power and enforcing constitutional constraints, these tariffs present a moment of truth.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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What went cruelly overlooked was the larger effect of such coercion: lasting trauma for Schneider, whose outspokenness over the years about her experience typically went unnoticed.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
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The latest findings add to a growing list of evidence of deeply rooted, widespread malpractice and coercion in what the commission called a mass exportation of children to meet foreign demand.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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One where the memories are as much of romance as violence, as based around out-of-pocket jokes as tears.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
28 Mar. 2025
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Their violence — in medieval bestiaries, unicorns are regularly said to have beef with elephants and take them down by goring their bellies — is contrasted with their gentleness towards maidens and innate understanding of purity.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
28 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Compulsion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsion. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
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