compel

«compel» in Mova's school dictionary: To force someone to do something, by law, rules or strong… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (compel, compels, compelled, compelling); adjective compelling

meaning for a pupil

1) (formal) To force someone to do something, by law, rules or strong pressure (be compelled to). tree →

2) To cause a strong feeling or reaction (compel attention). tree →

sense in the lessons

Formal and exam language: «Students are compelled to wear uniform». In stories: «She felt compelled to help». Adjective «compelling» means very interesting or convincing (a compelling story, compelling evidence).

examples

• The law compels drivers to wear seatbelts. tree →
• Rain compelled us to cancel the picnic. tree →
• He felt compelled to tell the truth. tree →
• No one can compel you to say something untrue. tree →
• The storm compelled the ship to return. tree →
• It was a compelling book I couldn't put down. tree →
• But it was no use; something stronger than himself compelled him to keep them there. tree →

note

Double l before -ed and -ing: compelled, compelling. Noun: compulsion; adjective compulsory (must be done). Formal: everyday words are force or make.

In the corpora

• The hunger of the labouring man laboureth for him; for his mouth compelleth him.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «compel» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.