Past tense of compel
regular verb
The past tense of compel is compelled. The past participle is also compelled.
Forms of compel
| Base form (V1) | compel /kəmˈpɛl/ |
|---|---|
| Past tense (V2) | compelled /kəmˈpɛld/ |
| Past participle (V3) | compelled /kəmˈpɛld/ |
| Present participle | compelling /kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/ |
| Third person singular | compels /kəmˈpɛlz/ |
Compelled in a sentence
- The shepherds compelled the stray sheep into the fold as night began to fall.
- Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.
- She felt compelled to manage up because her boss seemed to be missing the significance of the risk.From the entry manage up
- I do believe state policymakers are very compelled to address those early years.2013, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and the Workforce, Education Research, page 42. From the entry compelled
- It was more like he was being compelled against his will.2012, Cate Tiernan, Darkness Falls, page 62. From the entry zomg
Meaning of compel
- verb To drive together, round up.
- verb To overpower; to subdue.
- verb To force, constrain, or coerce.
Questions about the past tense of compel
- What is the past tense of compel?
- The past tense of compel is compelled.
- What is the past participle of compel?
- The past participle of compel is compelled.
- Is compel a regular or irregular verb?
- Compel is a regular verb: its past tense doubles the last letter and adds -ed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compel (page history and authors) and the entries of its forms. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws left out forms marked obsolete, archaic, rare or dialectal and added the examples. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Past tense of compel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/past-tense/compel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.