Definitions for compel
kəmˈpɛlcom·pel

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. compel, oblige, obligateverb

   force somebody to do something

   "We compel all students to fill out this form"

2. compelverb

   necessitate or exact

   "the water shortage compels conservation"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. compelverb

   To drive together, round up

   Sheep dogs masterly compel the herd.

2. compelverb

   To overpower; to subdue

3. compelverb

   To force, constrain or coerce

   Logic compels the wise, fools feel compelled by emotions instead

4. compelverb

   To exact, extort, (make) produce by force

5. Etymology: From compellen, from compellir, from compellere, itself from com- 'together' + pellere 'to drive'

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To COMPELverb

   Etymology: compello, Latin.

   1. To force to some act; to oblige; to constrain; to necessitate; to urge irresistibly.

   You will compel me then to read the will? William Shakespeare, Jul. Cæsar.

   The spinners, carders, fullers, compell’d by hunger,
   And lack of other means, in desp’rate manner,
   Daring th’ event to the teeth, are all in uproar. William Shakespeare.

   He refused, and said, I will not eat: but his servants, together with the woman, compelled him. 1 Sa. xxvii. 23.

   All these blessings could but enable, not compel us to be happy. Edward Hyde.

   2. To take by force or violence; to ravish from; to seize. This signification is uncommon and harsh.

   The subjects grief
   Comes through commissions, which compel from each
   The sixth part of his substance, to be levied
   Without delay. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. compel

   A motion to compel asks the court to order either the opposing party or a third party to take some action. This sort of motion most commonly deals with discovery disputes, when a party who has propounded discovery to either the opposing party or a third party believes that the discovery responses are insufficient. The motion to compel is used to ask the court to order the non-complying party to produce the documentation or information requested, and/or to sanction the non-complying party for their failure to comply with the discovery requests. The United States court system is divided into three systems; federal, tribal, and state. The federal courts have their own rules which are stated in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The states, on the other hand, have their own codes of civil and criminal procedure. The federal and state rules are similar, but have occasional differences.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. compel

   To compel means to force or strongly persuade someone to do something. It typically implies a strong necessity or pressure that can come from internal motivation or external circumstances.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Compelverb

   to drive or urge with force, or irresistibly; to force; to constrain; to oblige; to necessitate, either by physical or moral force

2. Compelverb

   to take by force or violence; to seize; to exact; to extort

3. Compelverb

   to force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate

4. Compelverb

   to gather or unite in a crowd or company

5. Compelverb

   to call forth; to summon

6. Compelverb

   to make one yield or submit

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Compel

   To compel one to present information to a jury is done by order of a judge. If a judge believes the individual has information relevant to the cause, he can "force" that person to present that information or be subject to arrest for contempt of court.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Compel

   kom-pel′, v.t. to drive or urge on forcibly: to oblige: to force: to obtain by hard labour:—pr.p. compel′ling; pa.p. compelled′.—adj. Compel′lable. [L. com, inten., pellĕre, pulsum, to drive.]

Matched Categories

1. • Cause
   • Necessitate

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'compel' in Verbs Frequency: #990

How to pronounce compel?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say compel in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of compel in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of compel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of compel in a Sentence

1. Human Rights Watch:

   Afghan journalists face threats from all sides: government officials exploiting weak legal protections to intimidate reporters and editors to compel them not to cover controversial topics; the Taliban and other insurgent groups using threats and violence to compel reporting they consider favorable; and police and justice officials letting threats, assaults and even murders go uninvestigated and unprosecuted.

2. John Hickenlooper:

   It would be hard for me -- and I am not saying I couldn't do it and I am not saying my patriotic duty may compel me to do it -- but my character, what activates me, motivates me is building teams and surrounding John Hickenlooper with really talented people, taking big bites out of major challenges and then doing them.

3. Denny Chin:

   You waited eight months before asking to compel arbitration, you requested and obtained substantive relief ... In those circumstances, why isn’t the right to arbitration, to the extent it exists, waived?

4. Katell Thielemann:

   If you're a ransomware actor, your goal is to inflict as much pain as possible to compel these companies to pay you, this is beyond cybersecurity only, this is now a cyber-physical event where actual, physical-world processes get halted. When you can target companies in those environments, clearly that's where the most pain is felt because that's where they make money.

5. Joachim Gauck:

   They won't compel us to hate, like they hate, they won't hold us in the confinement of perpetual fear. We will remain what we are: a considerate, supportive society.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=compel
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Compel
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=compel
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compel
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compel
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=compel
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=compel