compulsion : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: compulsion	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for compulsion
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
compulsion n an urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid; "he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident" Synonym(s): compulsion, irresistible impulse an irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will; "her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly" Synonym(s): compulsion, obsession using force to cause something to occur; "though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game"; "they didn't have to use coercion" Synonym(s): compulsion, coercion
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Compulsion \Compul"sion\, n. [L. compulsio. See {Compel}.] The act of compelling, or the state of being compelled; the act of driving or urging by force or by physical or moral constraint; subjection to force. If reasons were as plentiful as blackberries, I would give no man a reason upon compulsion. --Shak. With what compulsion* and laborious flight We sunk thus low. --Milton. Syn: See {Constraint}.