compelling
/kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/
compelling is the present participle and gerund of compel.
Adjective
compelling (comparative more compelling, superlative most compelling)
- very interesting; able to capture and hold one's attention
- The novel was so compelling that I couldn't put it down.
- The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing", "share the things you love with the world"...2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27
- Synonyms:
- gripping
- capable of causing someone to believe or agree
- He made a compelling argument.
- Terry's goal looked to have put Chelsea in control on the stroke of half-time but Arsenal's response presented a compelling case for Wenger's insistence that reports of his side's demise have been greatly exaggerated.2011 October 29, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport
- Synonyms:
- convincing
- strong and forceful; that causes one to feel like they must do something
- I would need a very compelling reason to leave my job.
Meaning of compel
Verb
compel (third-person singular simple present compels, present participle compelling, simple past and past participle compelled)
- To drive together, round up.
- The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall.
- To overpower; to subdue.
- She had one of those perfect faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man.1917, Upton Sinclair, chapter 16, in King Coal
- To force, constrain, or coerce.
- Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.
- To forcefully or powerfully motivate (a course of action).
- As the novel progresses, it picks up a propulsive energy, the kind that compels you to keep reading straight through to the end.November 1, 2022, J. Courtney Sullivan, “In Northern Ireland During the Troubles, a Secret Romance”, in The New York Times
- Synonyms:
- necessitate
- To have a strong, irresistible force (on someone or something).
- To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.
- Commissions, which compel from each / The sixth part of his substance.1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...
Noun
compelling (plural compellings)
- An act of compulsion; an obliging somebody to do something.
Synonyms of compelling
Forms of compelling
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more compelling |
| superlative | most compelling |
| Noun | |
| plural | compellings |
Origin of compelling
By surface analysis, compel + -ing.
Words formed from compelling
Phrases with compelling
Words that rhyme with compelling
- shelling
- spelling
- telling
- swelling
- belling
- selling
- smelling
- cabbeling
- dwelling
- felling
- gelling
- paralleling
1 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about compelling
- What does compelling mean?
- Compelling means very interesting; able to capture and hold one's attention.
- What is compelling the present participle and gerund of?
- Compelling is the present participle and gerund of compel.
- What part of speech is compelling?
- Compelling can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce compelling?
- Compelling is pronounced /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/.
Words near compelling in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compelling (page history and authors); compel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-compelling.ogg.
Cite this entry: “compelling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/compelling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.