as in to coerce
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
public opinion compelled her to fire her scandal-plagued aide
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of compel
They can be compelled to give statements, but they can’t be used against them in any way.
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David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 10 Mar. 2025
Even in his last moments, his humor, and his boundless compassion, compelled him to leave us with one last laugh....to cheer us all up.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Even in his last moments, his humor, and his boundless compassion, compelled him to leave us with one last laugh… to cheer us all up.
—Elizabeth Stanton, Fox News, 9 Mar. 2025
Even after you're done, you might be compelled to crank up the difficulty and force yourself to type even faster the next time.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for compel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compel
Verb
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Trump’s rocky relationship with Zelensky goes back five years—to when Trump first held up military assistance Congress had authorized for Ukraine to coerce Zelensky into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.—
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A week later, the White House used the threat of tariffs to coerce Mexico into dispatching thousands of additional troops along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat fentanyl smuggling.—
Verb
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Tracking the Trump administration’s rollback of climate and environmental policies can seem like being forced through a wormhole back in time.—
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The episode opened right where the last one left off — Britney was forced to decide Danielle’s fate at the roundtable after Danielle and Ivar tied in votes at the penultimate banishment ceremony.—
Verb
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While the city is legally obligated to make the $175 million pension payment, the majority of staff covered by the municipal pension fund are current or former nonteacher CPS staff.—
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On one hand, there's a series of boring meet-and-greets Fisk is obligated to make.—
Verb
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If Trump were to order an invasion of Greenland this could theoretically trigger a war with the rest of NATO, as the defense alliance's Article 5 obliges members to come to the assistance of any member state that is attacked.—
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Meeting Middleton had been on the teen’s bucket list, and in October the princess obliged.—
Verb
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So, does your workplace use curiosity to drive meaningful results?—
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The other victims include the 26-year-old driving the BMW, his 23-year-old passenger and the front passenger of the Camry.—
Cite this Entry
“Compel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compel. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
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