What does compulsion mean?
Compulsion is the experience of being driven to act — either by forces within oneself or by pressure from outside. In its most common modern use, it names an irresistible internal urge: a person may feel a compulsion to check a lock repeatedly, confess a secret, or keep working long past exhaustion. Psychologists treat compulsion as a distinct phenomenon, defining it as a repetitive behavior performed to relieve anxiety, as seen in obsessive-compulsive disorder. The word also retains its older sense of external coercion: acting under compulsion means being forced by law, threat, or circumstance rather than choosing freely. Derived from Latin roots meaning "to drive or press together," it shares its origin with "compulsory" and "compel." Compulsion carries a connotation of loss of control, making it a precise word for describing everything from clinical symptoms to everyday habits that feel impossible to resist.
An irresistible internal urge or impulse to act in a particular way.
"Despite promising herself she would stop, she felt a compulsion to check her phone every few minutes."
This is the dominant sense in both everyday and clinical usage.
External force, coercion, or necessity that compels someone to act against their will.
"He signed the contract under compulsion, fearing what would happen if he refused."
Often appears in the fixed phrase "under compulsion." Slightly formal register.
The plural is common when referring to multiple specific urges or coercive demands, especially in psychological contexts (e.g., listing the compulsions of a patient).
"Therapy helped her recognize her compulsions before they took over her day."
Compulsion comes from the Latin for "driving together" — the same root that gives us "compulsory," which is why being forced by law and forced by your own brain share a single word.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of compulsion
Compulsion derives from the Latin verb "compellere," meaning "to drive together, compel," formed from "com-" (together) and "pellere" (to drive). It entered English via Old French in the late Middle Ages, with its modern senses developing through the early modern period; the psychological sense of an irresistible inner impulse is more recent, becoming prominent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its Latin root also produced "compulsory" and "compel" in English, and the underlying verb "pellere" gives English further relatives such as "pulse," "impulse," and "propel."
Related word forms
How compulsion is actually used
In psychology and psychiatry, "compulsion" has a technical sense: a repetitive behavior performed to reduce anxiety, most familiar from obsessive-compulsive disorder. In everyday speech it is often used loosely for any powerful urge ("a compulsion to buy shoes"), which is acceptable informally but blurs the clinical meaning. When referring to coercion by others, phrases like "under compulsion" carry a slightly formal register.
Easily confused with compulsion
"Compulsion" is the noun naming the urge itself, while "compulsive" is the adjective describing behavior driven by such urges (as in "a compulsive gambler").
An obsession is a persistent unwanted thought or preoccupation, whereas a compulsion is a strong urge or drive toward action — the two often occur together but are distinct.