What does compel mean?
Definitions for compel
kəmˈpɛlcom·pel
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word compel.
Princeton's WordNet
compel, oblige, obligateverb
force somebody to do something
"We compel all students to fill out this form"
compelverb
necessitate or exact
"the water shortage compels conservation"
Wiktionary
compelverb
To drive together, round up
Sheep dogs masterly compel the herd.
compelverb
To overpower; to subdue
compelverb
To force, constrain or coerce
Logic compels the wise, fools feel compelled by emotions instead
compelverb
To exact, extort, (make) produce by force
Etymology: From compellen, from compellir, from compellere, itself from com- 'together' + pellere 'to drive'
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
To COMPELverb
Etymology: compello, Latin.
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.
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.
Wikipedia
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.
ChatGPT
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 Dictionary
Compelverb
to drive or urge with force, or irresistibly; to force; to constrain; to oblige; to necessitate, either by physical or moral force
Compelverb
to take by force or violence; to seize; to exact; to extort
Compelverb
to force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate
Compelverb
to gather or unite in a crowd or company
Compelverb
to call forth; to summon
Compelverb
to make one yield or submit
Wikidata
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 Dictionary
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
British National Corpus
Verbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'compel' in Verbs Frequency: #990
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of compel in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of compel in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of compel in a Sentence
The only way to compel men to speak good of us is to do it.
The star impel but don't compel!
The words of the Constitution are so unrestricted by their intrinsic meaning or by their history or by tradition or by prior decisions that they leave the individual Justice free, if indeed they do not compel him, to gather meaning not from reading the Constitution but from reading life.
What might compel [action], especially in this era of populism, is this broader sense of how much some folks are getting away with, lawfully or not.
To date, The President has not produced a single document or scheduled a single interview, house Oversight Committee expects full compliance with House Oversight Committee requests as soon as possible, or it may become necessary to consider alternative means to compel compliance.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for compel
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- تجبرArabic
- подчинявам, насилвам, принуждавам, заставям, събирамBulgarian
- nutitCzech
- zwingen, nötigenGerman
- αναγκάζωGreek
- devigiEsperanto
- forzar, obligar, compelerSpanish
- pakottaa, [[periä]] [[väkisin]], ajaaFinnish
- obligerFrench
- ենթարկել, ստիպել, հարկադրել, պարտադրելArmenian
- לאלץHebrew
- 강요하다Korean
- qui nolentes cogeretLatin
- bedwingen, afdwingen, dwingen, bijeendrijven, samendrijvenDutch
- tvingeNorwegian
- forçarPortuguese
- обязывать, вынудить, принудить, обязать, принуждать, заставить, заставлять, подчинять, вынуждать, собиратьRussian
- tvingaSwedish
- บังคับThai
- צווינגעןYiddish
- 迫使Chinese
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