com ‧ pel /kəmˈpel/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle compelled , present participle compelling ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: compellere , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + pellere 'to drive' ]
1 . to force someone to do something ⇨ compulsion
compel somebody to do something
The law will compel employers to provide health insurance.
She felt compelled to resign because of the scandal.
2 . formal to make people have a particular feeling or attitude ⇨ compulsion :
His performance compelled the audience’s attention.
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THESAURUS
▪ force to make someone do something they do not want to do. Used when people or situations make you do something:
They were beaten and forced to confess to crimes they had not committed.
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The drought forced millions of farmers to sell their cattle.
▪ make to force someone to do something by using pressure, threats, or violence. Make somebody do something is more common than force somebody to do something in everyday English:
Her parents disapproved of Alex and they made her stop seeing him.
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Two men with guns made the staff hand over the money.
▪ pressure ( also pressurize British English ) to try to force someone to do something by making them feel that they should do it:
Some employers pressure their staff into working very long hours.
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She felt they were trying to pressurize her into getting married.
▪ blackmail to force someone to give you money or do what you want by threatening to tell embarrassing secrets about them:
She tried to blackmail him with photographs of them together at the hotel.
▪ compel [usually passive] formal to force someone to do something using official power or authority. Also used when someone has to do something because of their situation:
The town was surrounded and compelled to surrender.
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I felt compelled to offer them some kind of explanation.
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You are compelled by law to carry an ID card.
▪ coerce /kəʊˈɜːs $ ˈkoʊɜːrs/ formal to force someone to do something by threatening them:
Local people were coerced into joining the rebel army.
▪ be obliged to do something formal if someone is obliged to do something, they must do it because it is the law or the rule, or because of the situation they are in:
You are not obliged to say anything which may harm your defence in court.
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They were obliged to sell the land.