compulsion

/kəmˈpʌlʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /kəmˈpʌlʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /kəm-ˈpəl-shən/ (ame, mw)

compulsion — noun

  • compulsionsingular
  • compulsionsplural

1. A very strong, hard-to-control need to do something over and over, often a behav

1.名詞B2
釋義

A very strong, hard-to-control need to do something over and over, often a behaviour the person knows is not reasonable or helpful.

例句

Chioma felt a strange compulsion to check her phone every few minutes, even during important meetings.

countable + to-infinitive: feel a compulsion to do something

After the accident, Deepa developed a strong compulsion to wash her hands many times each day.

have/develop a compulsion to do something

同義詞
  • urge

    A general strong desire; less intense than compulsion and does not necessarily imply repetition or loss of control.

  • impulse

    A sudden, brief desire to act; compulsion is more persistent and repetitive.

  • obsession

    A fixed idea or thought that fills the mind; compulsion focuses on the repeated action, obsession on the repeated thought.

反義詞
  • choice

    Compulsion involves a lack of free will; choice is the freedom to decide.

文法句型

a compulsion + to-infinitive

have a compulsion to do something

feel a compulsion to do something

用法筆記

Often used with verbs like 'feel', 'have', 'develop', or 'resist'. The thing you cannot stop doing follows the to-infinitive. This sense is common in discussions of mental health and habits.

常見錯誤

❌I feel compulsion to eat sweets.
✅I feel a compulsion to eat sweets.
💡In this sense, compulsion is usually countable and needs the article 'a'.
❌She had compulsion of checking the door.
✅She had a compulsion to check the door.
💡The pattern is 'compulsion + to-infinitive', not 'compulsion + of + gerund'.

2. Pressure from outside — such as a law, a threat, or a person in authority — that

2.名詞B2
釋義

Pressure from outside — such as a law, a threat, or a person in authority — that forces you to act in a particular way even if you do not want to.

例句

The family sold their land under compulsion after the new tax law took effect.

prepositional phrase: under compulsion

No compulsion was used to make the witnesses speak — they all came forward freely.

passive: no compulsion was used

同義詞
  • coercion

    Stronger emphasis on threat or force, often physical or legal; more negative than compulsion.

  • pressure

    Less intense than compulsion; can be mild influence rather than unavoidable force.

  • obligation

    Focuses on duty or moral requirement rather than direct force.

反義詞
  • free will

    The ability to choose without outside pressure, the opposite of acting under compulsion.

  • choice

    Freedom to decide among options rather than being forced into one path.

文法句型

under compulsion

by compulsion

no compulsion to do something

a legal compulsion

用法筆記

Commonly appears in legal, business, and political contexts. The phrase 'under compulsion' signals that someone is acting against their will because of an external pressure. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not refer to an internal feeling.

常見錯誤

❌I helped her under compulsion of kindness.
✅I helped her out of kindness.
💡Compassion is an internal motive, not external pressure. Use 'under compulsion' only when outside force is involved.