Make Your Point > Archived Issues > COMPEL

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pronounce COMPEL: Say it "come PELL." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: You're probably very familiar with the word compel, so you could list some synonyms of it, like urge, force, oblige, c___ce ("to use your power or authority to force someone to do something"), and ne____itate ("to demand or require something: to make something needed"). And if you peek into the heart of compel, you'll glimpse the Latin pellere, meaning "to drive, to push, to beat, to strike." Could you use pellere to think of some etymological cousins of compel? That is, could you think of some words with "pel" in them that also have something to do with driving, pushing, beating, or striking? Feel free to gaze off into the distance while you think, and while I fill space with silly commentary that stops you from seeing... the answers... too quickly. Hopefully, you were able to name some of compel's five close cousins: dispel, expel, impel, propel, and repel. The family also includes some words you might not expect, like push, pulse, impulse, and appeal. You may have also come up with some false positives: some words with "pel" in them that aren't from the pellere family, which I'll list below.  1. Did you come up with chapel? That one's from the Latin cappa, "cape." Same for a cappella, "in the style of a chapel." 2. Did you think of gospel? That one is literally a "good spell" or a "good story or message," from the Old English spel, "story or message." 3. Lapel? That one is "little lap," from Old English. 4. Scalpel? Hopefully your surgeon is using it with a bit more control than pellere would suggest (not so much with the driving, pushing, beating, and striking). Scalpel comes from the Latin for "carve," closely related to sculpt. Thanks for following me down this etymology hole! I always feel compelled to jump into them. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: The word "compel" has Latin bits that mean "to drive together." In Latin, compellere meant "to drive together," often "to drive (cattle) all together." In English, for hundreds of years, to compel someone to do something has meant to urge them to do it, or even to force them to do it. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "The story's quick pace compels us to pay attention;" "I felt compelled to do that;" "He was compelled to go." Other common forms:  The other verb forms are "compelled" and "compelling." Interestingly, there are three adjective forms ("compelling," "compulsory," and "compulsive") with very different meanings. "Compulsory" means "required, mandatory, must-do," as in "Education is compulsory in the US" and "Training is compulsory before you begin this job." "Compelling" means "persuasive, inspiring, effective, irresistible," as in "His argument is absolutely compelling" and "There's no compelling evidence for that theory." And "compulsive" means "caused by a strong inner urge to do certain things, often again and again," as in "Her work ethic is so intense that it borders on compulsive." how to use it: Pick the formal, very common word "compel" to point out how people did or said certain things because they felt they had no choice. Most often, we use the passive voice: "He felt compelled to lie to avoid seeming rude;" "She was compelled to quit the team after such a shameful performance." But we can also use the active voice: "Good manners compelled him to lie;" "Her shameful performance compelled her to quit the team." To use the adjective "compelling" (meaning "irresistible"), talk about compelling ideas, suggestions, data, arguments, reasons, evidence, etc. And to use the adjective "compulsory" (meaning "required"), talk about compulsory fees, reading, assignments, attendance, education, training, etc. examples: "Never had the land given forth such harvests as it had this year. He was compelled to build yet another room to the house to store his harvests in, or they would not have had space to walk in the house."    — Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth, 1931 "She smiles, but on her the expression looks compulsory, like she's just adhering to a social convention."    — Veronica Roth, Allegiant, 2013 has this page helped you understand "compel"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "compel" without saying "drive" or "force." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Because _____, I felt compelled to _____." Positive example: "Because of the 1,000+ rave reviews, I felt compelled to try this recipe." Negative example: "Because it would have been impolite to walk away or pretend I didn't speak English, I felt compelled to let this stranger ramble through his entire story." If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game this month is Subject Line Matching! Try matching each capitalized term below with the email subject line that introduced it. You can check your answers by scrolling all the way down. For an extra challenge, try recalling what each term means and how the subject line connects to it. Have fun! GALVANIZE: _____ MUSTARD SEED: _____ NICHE: _____ PLATEAU: _____ QUASI: _____ going neauwhere have faith, move mountains, enjoy hot dogs if it fits, I sits the Diet Coke of evil tzzzzt review this word: 1. The opposite of COMPULSORY is _____, and the opposite of COMPELLING is _____. A. EARNEST .. FALSE B. OPTIONAL .. FLIMSY C. ATTRACTIVE .. SUSPICIOUS 2. It's a compelling story, a real _____. A. page-turner B. tearjerker C. waste of paper Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. A Answers to the game questions: GALVANIZE: tzzzzt MUSTARD SEED: have faith, move mountains, enjoy hot dogs NICHE: if it fits, I sits PLATEAU: going neauwhere QUASI: the Diet Coke of evil a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.