Synonyms for compulsion
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Coercion
coercion, obligation, force, necessity, restraint, constraint, enforcement
Other
obsession, driving, man date informal, compulsoriness, mandatoriness, appetency, coaction dated
Definitions
- n. 1
An irrational need or irresistible urge to perform some action, often despite negative consequences.
During the basketball game, I had a sudden compulsion to have a smoke.
Related words
- Word family
- compulsive compulsory
- Phrases
- compulsion loop
Forms
- Plural
- compulsions → coercions, obligations, forces, necessities…
Choose the right word
Compulsion implies the exertion of some urgent impelling force; as, driven by compulsion. Compulsion is always produced by some active agent; a constraint may be laid upon us by the forms of civil society, or by other outward circumstances.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- obligation It is the obligation of every worker to pay taxes.
- necessity He said that necessity is the mother of invention.
- restraint She was angry, but she spoke with restraint.
- coercion A word of encouragement goes further than coercion.
- obsession What's this obsession he has with religious books?
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| compulsion | steady | |
| obligation | steady | |
| necessity | falling | |
| restraint | falling | |
| coercion | steady | |
| obsession | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- force1
- 7 letters
- driving2
- 8 letters
- coercion3, coaction
- 9 letters
- necessity4, obsession3, restraint2, appetency
- 10 letters
- obligation4, constraint2
- 11 letters
- enforcement3
- 13 letters
- mandatoriness
- 14 letters
- compulsoriness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (driving2 = 2 syllables).