How to Use compel in a Sentence

compel

verb

• Illness compelled him to stay in bed.
• We took steps to compel their cooperation.
• What compels an artist to devote years of their life to a story with so many watermelons?
  — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 29 Nov. 2024
• We are compelled to look at our own history through the lives of our people — and to share and listen to others’ stories, too.
  — Cassandra King, Southern Living, 1 Dec. 2024
• An industry can change on its own much faster than regulatory efforts would compel it to.
  — Eric Noonan, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2022
• Even tableaux of destruction compel the eye, less war as spectacle than some horrific inverse of the creative process.
  — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
• The letter wouldn’t compel schools to do this, as Ohio’s education system gives local schools a lot of control over their own policies.
  — Laura Hancock, cleveland, 14 Sep. 2022
• For example, the law says teachers cannot compel students to believe that anyone is inherently privileged or oppressed because of their race.
  — Sarah Mervosh, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2022
• The Israeli government insists that military force compelled those concessions—a claim Spencer echoes.
  — John Spencer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
• Twitter has asked a court to compel him to follow through with the agreement, and the case is set to go to trial in the Delaware Chancery Court in October.
  — Clare Duffy, CNN, 23 Aug. 2022
• The slippage compelled the Bank of Russia to freeze domestic purchases of foreign currency on Wednesday.
  — David Axe, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
• The Texas Supreme Court declined to compel the state to do so in May of this year.
  — Jason Ma, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2024
• Everyone knew the words and felt compelled to join in on the fun.
  — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, 16 Nov. 2019
• For a large part of my life, I felt compelled to pick at my zits.
  — Emily Gaudette, SELF, 15 Apr. 2019
• That compelled her to throw her hat into the ring against Knight.
  — Jeffrey Mervis, Science | AAAS, 15 June 2018
• Grief over her death compelled me to leave my longtime home on the N.C. coast.
  — Liz Biro, Indianapolis Star, 7 Apr. 2020
• For the non-car people, they will be compelled by the back story.
  — Charles Fleming, latimes.com, 27 Apr. 2018
• More recently, the Jets felt compelled to jump three slots to snag the No.
  — Dan Bickley, azcentral, 22 Mar. 2018
• That said… The main concern is that the new kids on the block seem compelled to record and share their antics.
  — The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
• The older players see it and have to be compelled to stay on top of their games.
  — Susan Miller Degnan, miamiherald, 5 Nov. 2017
• When the elite fail to lead, grassroots movements must compel them to do so.
  — Paul Laudicina, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2022
• So there was a bit of a blank space in my knowledge of Thai food, and I was compelled to learn more about it.
  — Jessica Carbone, Saveur, 18 Apr. 2024
• Like, what compels a man to turn his headwear away from his face?
  — Candace Buckner, Washington Post, 20 June 2024
• Does the government have the right to compel people to share?
  — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024
• But with a tip section still on the receipt, Mr. Ellsworth felt compelled to tip.
  — Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Sep. 2023
• But there has to be a present-day urgency compelling the return to the past.
  — Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023
• The Sun’s article compelled me to visit St. Ann’s for the first time.
  — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 10 Aug. 2024
• Musk tried to back out of the $44 billion deal, and Twitter took him to court to compel him to go through with the purchase.
  — Harold Maass, The Week, 7 Oct. 2022
• Not until the evening, in fact, was the low prevailing mood compelled to lift.
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
• Imperati filed a motion to compel him to turn over the filings.
  — Kelan Lyons, courant.com, 5 Nov. 2020

Last Updated: 16 Dec 2024