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compel

com·pel/kəmˈpɛl/verb

compel is spelled C-O-M-P-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables (com·pel). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “compel vs impel” about 1,300 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, compel means “To overpower; to subdue” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in compel?

Letters6: C-O-M-P-E-L
Syllables2: com·pel
In writing1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is compel?

Compel appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce compel?

  • /kəmˈpɛl/

Compel has 2 syllables, split com·pel in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-compel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with compel

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

compel vs impel1,300 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of compel

  • compels present, singular, he/she/it
  • compelling participle, present
  • compelled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does compel mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    archaicTo drive together, round up.

    The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall.

  2. 2

    To overpower; to subdue.

  3. 3

    To force, constrain, or coerce.

    Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.

  4. 4

    To forcefully or powerfully motivate (a course of action).

  5. 5

    To have a strong, irresistible force (on someone or something).

  6. 6

    To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.

  7. 7

    obsoleteTo force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo gather or unite in a crowd or company.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Compel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanbezwingen, unterwerfen (overpower), zwingen, nötigen (force, constrain or coerce)
Frenchcontraindre, forcer (force, constrain or coerce), obliger (exact by force)
Portugueseforçar, obrigar (force, constrain or coerce)
Spanishcompeler (force, constrain or coerce)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does compel come from?

From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Old English nīedan.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after compel