What does Compulsive mean?

Definitions for Compulsive
kəmˈpʌl sɪvcom·pul·sive

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Compulsive.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. compulsiveadjective

    a person with a compulsive disposition; someone who feels compelled to do certain things

  2. compulsiveadjective

    caused by or suggestive of psychological compulsion

    "compulsive drinking"

  3. compulsive, determined, drivenadjective

    strongly motivated to succeed

Wiktionary

  1. compulsivenoun

    One who exhibits compulsive behaviours.

  2. compulsiveadjective

    uncontrolled or reactive and unconscious

  3. Etymology: From compulsus, past participle of compellere, from +.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Compulsiveadjective

    Having the power to compel; forcible.

    Etymology: from compulser, Fr. compulsus, Latin.

    The Danube, vast and deep,
    Supreme of rivers, to the frightful brink,
    Urg’d by compulsive arms, soon as they reach’d,
    New terror chill’d their veins. Phillips.

    The clergy would be glad to recover their dues by a more short and compulsive method. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. compulsive

    Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted and repetitive behavior, yet not disturbing in a pathological way. Compulsive behaviors are a need to reduce apprehension caused by internal feelings a person wants to abstain from or control. A major cause of compulsive behavior is said to be obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). "The main idea of compulsive behavior is that the likely excessive activity is not connected to the purpose to which it appears directed." There are many different types of compulsive behaviors including shopping, hoarding, eating, gambling, trichotillomania and picking skin, itching, checking, counting, washing, sex, and more. Also, there are cultural examples of compulsive behavior.

ChatGPT

  1. compulsive

    Compulsive refers to the behavior which is driven by an irresistible urge or an uncontrollable impulse, often against one's conscious wishes. It is usually repetitive, persistent, and hard to stop even if it’s harmful. 'Compulsive' can be used to describe both the actions and the person who performs these actions. For instance, compulsive behaviors, compulsive eating, or compulsive gambler.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Compulsiveadjective

    having power to compel; exercising or applying compulsion

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Compulsive in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Compulsive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Compulsive in a Sentence

  1. Sam Stoller:

    My feeling from all this is that this is a story about anti-Semitism, it's a story about two young men who worked pretty much all of their lives since they were children to prepare for this moment, and they prepared with an obsessive compulsive behavior that normal people couldn't understand.

  2. Paul Hokemeyer:

    Compulsive workers tend to be overly sensitive and suffer from intense emotions including depression and anxiety.

  3. Marc Summers:

    Most people were n’t aware what OCD was back in the late ‘ 90s, i was supposed to be hosting ‘ Hollywood Squares ’ and then lost the job because people did n’t understand what obsessive compulsive disorder was, and they were spreading rumors that I was difficult to work with and uncooperative, none of which was true. But people were not given the tools to learn what Hollywood Squares ' was.

  4. Josh Hawley:

    When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn't be allowed to monetize addiction, and when kids play games designed for adults, they should be walled off from compulsive microtransactions. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences.

  5. Jim Hall:

    More of it remains active flooding the brain with excess dopamine, resulting in intense pleasure and its related anticipation that users come to crave resulting in compulsive use and a stronger addiction, designing the molecule of a drug that blocks the exit door for dopamine in the brain makes it a more addictive substance.

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Translations for Compulsive

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"Compulsive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 5 Jan. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Compulsive>.

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