compels

verb

present tense third-person singular of compel
as in obligates
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure public opinion compelled her to fire her scandal-plagued aide

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of compels The competitive pressure to achieve maximal adoption compels a convergence toward openness. — Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Odysseus’ curiosity, meanwhile, compels him to stay and learn of the cave’s inhabitant. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 23 July 2026 Every drop hits like a quake, and each muscular beat compels you to shake your ass. — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026 When systemic failures persist, lawsuits are the catalyst that compels meaningful reform and protects children who cannot protect themselves. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 26 June 2026 This landmark measure compels our counties and municipalities to remain politically responsive to the people who live there. — Anthony G. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026 That started to change with the 2023 Right to Read law, which compels districts to use K-3 literacy curricula aligned with the science of reading. — Theo Peck-Suzuki, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2026 This pattern may persist until a major tragedy or systemic shock finally compels the continent’s principal powers to negotiate a new security order. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 18 June 2026 Richard Dreyfuss stars as an Indiana electric lineman/dad who gets discombobulated after a light from a passing UFO compels him to do weirdo things — like build a mountain replica inside of his home. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compels
  1. obligates
  2. coerces
  3. obliges
  4. forces
  5. drives
  6. impels
Verb
  • Zeus’s Law obligates Telemachus and Odysseus’s wife Penelope to host the suitors who hope to marry her in Odysseus’s absence.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026
  • The Montreux Convention obligates Turkey to allow commercial ships freedom of passage, but allows the country to charge for some specific things, including sanitary, pilotage, towage and lighthouse services.
    — Joanne Stocker, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of obligates
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of coerces
Verb
  • The following day, the state added him to its official register of terrorists and extremists, a designation that obliges Russian banks to freeze his assets.
    — Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Zeus obliges, striking their ship with a thunderbolt that destroys it and kills every member of Odysseus’ crew except the king himself.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of obliges
Verb
  • When a storm forces them to stay indoors, old wounds and hidden fears come to the surface, exposing their struggle to connect.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • With minor candidates on the ballot, there's a scenario where Colom pulls an upset or at least forces a runoff.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • Under the proposal, a commuter who drives on I-90 from Barrington to work downtown and back 50 weeks a year would be charged $950 in 2027, up from $600 this year.
    — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • That Treasury bond specifically drives the direction of consumer lending rates, such as for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of drives
Verb
  • And so, our mission – grounded in both truth and love – impels us to discern the motives that shape events, and the shifts in thought that drive human progress through higher ideals of justice, mercy, and wisdom.
    — Christa Case Bryant, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2025
Definition of impels

Browse Nearby Words

compelling
compels
compend
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Cite this Entry

“Compels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compels. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of compels for Spanish Speakers

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