compel

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His reasoning focused on the text of Article I: The authority to “raise” an army, he argued, did not include the power to compel service in it.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026

The trickle-down effects of this equation are significant enough to affect employment and, over time, compel media companies to consider mergers and acquisitions to maintain their positions in the market, Marshall added.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Rate traders, meanwhile, are digesting minutes of the Fed’s March policy meeting, in which a growing number of officials said war-related inflation might compel the need for interest-rate hikes before the end of the year.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on his X account that "striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

My thoughts would compel utterance; and there, with no audience but the Almighty, I would pour out my soul’s complaint, in my rude way, with an apostrophe to the moving multitude of ships:—

From "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Frederick Douglass