# compel

Pronunciation: say "kuhm-PEL" /kəmˈpɛl/

## Verb

1. To force, constrain, or coerce someone into doing something against their own will.
   - Simple: To make someone do something they do not want to do.
   - _The court can compel witnesses to testify under oath._
   - _Economic pressure compelled the company to lay off workers._
2. To powerfully motivate a particular course of action, driving someone strongly toward it.
   - Simple: To give someone such a strong reason that they act.
   - _The documentary compelled viewers to rethink their daily habits._
   - _A deep curiosity can compel scientists to pursue years of patient research._
3. To exert a powerful, irresistible force on a person or thing, drawing them in.
   - Simple: To affect someone so strongly that they cannot resist.
   - _Powerful images can compel an audience for hours._
   - _The melody compelled her to stop and listen._
4. To exact or extort something from someone, forcing them to produce it.
   - Simple: To get something from someone by using force.
   - _The regime compelled heavy taxes from the conquered towns._
   - _Interrogators sought to compel answers through threats._
5. To overpower someone or something and bring them under firm control.
   - Simple: To beat someone and bring them under control by force.
   - _Superior numbers compelled the defenders within days._
   - _The general moved quickly to compel the scattered forces._

## Verb

6. To drive animals or people together; to round them up into a single group. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To drive animals together into one group.
   - _The drovers compelled the herd along the narrow valley._
   - _Each morning the boys compel the goats up the hillside._
7. To force someone to yield; to overpower and subjugate them completely. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To beat someone completely and force them to give in.
8. To call forth or summon a person, spirit, or thing into one's presence. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To call someone or something to come forth.
9. To gather or unite people together into a crowd or company. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To bring people together into one group.

## Origin

From Middle English compellen, borrowed via Middle French compellir from Latin compellere, formed from com- ("together") and pellere ("to drive"). It displaced the native Old English word nīedan.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/compel (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).