compulsion Definition

compulsion
noun

1. The act of compelling or condition of being compelled.

Thesaurus: obligation, urgency, demand, pressure, duty; force, drive, necessity, need.
2. An irresistible urge to perform a certain action, especially an irrational one.

Thesaurus: obsession, preoccupation, urge, impulse, prepossession.
3. psychol.
An action or ritual that is repeated many times, usually against the will, and which usually represents a form of obsession (sense 2).

Etymology: 15c: French, from Latin compulsio, from compellere to compel.