com ‧ pul ‧ sion /kəmˈpʌlʃ ə n/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Late Latin compulsio , from Latin compellere ; ⇨ ↑ compel ]
1 . [countable] a strong and unreasonable desire to do something ⇨ compel :
The desire to laugh became a compulsion.
compulsion to do something
Leith felt an overwhelming compulsion to tell him the truth.
the compulsion to smoke or eat too much
2 . [singular, uncountable] the act of forcing or influencing someone to do something they do not want to do ⇨ compel
under (no) compulsion to do something
Owners are under no compulsion to sell their land.
The use of compulsion in psychiatric care cannot be justified.