compulsory
adjective
com·pul·so·ry
kəm-ˈpəls-rē 
-ˈpəl-sə-
2
: coercive, compelling
compulsory measures
Synonyms
Examples of compulsory in a Sentence
To free the mind and the heart from compulsory religious confession and observance was good for all three interested parties: the state, the church and the people.
—
Jon Meacham, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2009
So he wants a private life and no photographs and nobody to know his home address. I can dig it, I can relate to that (but, like he should try it when it's compulsory instead of a free-choice option).
—Salman Rushdie, New York Times Book Review, 14 Jan. 1990
He began to resent the compulsory attendance at the boring factory meetings.
—James Reston, Jr., Time, 28 Nov. 1988
compulsory retirement at age 70
Jon Meacham, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2009
So he wants a private life and no photographs and nobody to know his home address. I can dig it, I can relate to that (but, like he should try it when it's compulsory instead of a free-choice option).
—Salman Rushdie, New York Times Book Review, 14 Jan. 1990
He began to resent the compulsory attendance at the boring factory meetings.
—James Reston, Jr., Time, 28 Nov. 1988
compulsory retirement at age 70
Recent Examples on the Web
With the area now under a compulsory evacuation order, even those whose homes survived the inferno need to go elsewhere for the foreseeable future.
—CBS News, 12 Jan. 2025
Less than half of workers age 62-64 wanted to retire, and almost 90% believed that there should be no compulsory retirement at 65.
—James Chappel / Made By History, TIME, 3 Jan. 2025
Stopping at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center feels compulsory when visiting New Mexico where Indigenous culture stands more forward than anywhere else in America.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
In Shrinking’s sophomore season, however, that sense of uneasy interrogation is gone, and in its place is a puddle of narrative goo, an after-school special masquerading as a sitcom, an act of aggression toward anyone who blanches at the compulsory nature of forgiveness.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for compulsory 
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CBS News, 12 Jan. 2025
Less than half of workers age 62-64 wanted to retire, and almost 90% believed that there should be no compulsory retirement at 65.
—James Chappel / Made By History, TIME, 3 Jan. 2025
Stopping at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center feels compulsory when visiting New Mexico where Indigenous culture stands more forward than anywhere else in America.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
In Shrinking’s sophomore season, however, that sense of uneasy interrogation is gone, and in its place is a puddle of narrative goo, an after-school special masquerading as a sitcom, an act of aggression toward anyone who blanches at the compulsory nature of forgiveness.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for compulsory
Dictionary Entries Near compulsory
Cite this Entry
“Compulsory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compulsory. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
compulsory
adjective
com·pul·so·ry
kəm-ˈpəls-(ə-)rē
1
: required by or as if by law
compulsory education
2
: having the power of forcing someone to do something
a compulsory law
Legal Definition
compulsory
adjective
com·pul·so·ry
kəm-ˈpəl-sə-rē
1
: required or compelled by law : mandatory, obligatory
compulsory arbitration
compulsory insurance
specifically
: required to be brought or asserted in a pleading because of having arisen from the transaction or occurrence that is the subject of litigation
a compulsory counterclaim
compulsory reconvention
compare elective, permissive
2
: using compulsion : compelling
compulsory measures
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