# compulsory

Pronunciation: US say "kuhm-PUL-suh-ree" /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/; UK

## Adjective

1. Required by a rule, law, or authority; not optional.
   - Simple: Having to be done because a rule or law demands it.
   - _Military service remains compulsory for young men in several nations._
   - _The new policy makes annual safety training compulsory for all staff._
3. Having the power to compel or force; exerting constraint.
   - Simple: Able to force someone to do something.
   - _The statute granted the agency compulsory authority over local utilities._
   - _Such compulsory measures left the tenants no real choice in the matter._

## Noun

2. An item, task, or requirement that must be done rather than freely chosen.
   - Simple: Something you must do and cannot choose to skip.
   - _Ethics is listed as a compulsory in the first-year curriculum._
   - _In gymnastics, every athlete performs the same compulsories before the free routines._

## Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin "compulsorius," from Latin "compulsus." It displaced the native Old English word "ġenīedelīċ."

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