1. An urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or unsaid
   "he felt a compulsion to babble on about the accident"
   - irresistible impulse 
2. An irrational motive for performing trivial or repetitive actions, even against your will
   "her compulsion to wash her hands repeatedly"
   - obsession 
3. Using force to cause something to occur
   "though pressed into rugby under compulsion I began to enjoy the game"
   - coercion

Derived forms: compulsions

See also: compel, compulsive

Type of: causation, causing, irrational impulse, irrational motive

Encyclopedia: Compulsion

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