compulsory

English

Alternative forms

• compulsary (India, Philippines)

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin compulsorius, from Latin compulsus. Displaced native Old English ġenīedelīċ.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kəm-pŭl'sə-rē IPA^(key): /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

compulsory (comparative more compulsory, superlative most compulsory)

1. Required; obligatory; mandatory.

   The ten-dollar fee was compulsory.

   • 1827, A. D. Jr., Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, A. and C. Black, page 212:

     They are entirely private concerns, established by individual teachers, and attendance upon them is no more compulsory than attendance on our dispensaries.

   • 1996, Ugo Pagano, Democracy and Efficiency in the Economic Enterprise, page 73:

     Some might agree that membership in the firm is perhaps more compulsory than membership in a municipality, but balk at applying the analogy to the nation.

   • 2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30:

     Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.

   • 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68:

     I haven't booked, so I don't have a clue as to whether the service will be busy or not. Supposedly, reservations are compulsory, but I want to find out what would happen if you just turn up.

2. Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

   Such compulsory measures are limited.

   • 2025 November 13, Kate Connolly, “Germany decides against conscription to replenish post-cold war military”, in The Guardian‎:

     There will be financial and other incentives to encourage voluntary recruitment, but if that fails to find the numbers a compulsory nationwide call-up will be reconsidered.

Synonyms

• mandatory

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “required”): optional
• (antonym(s) of “having the power of compulsion”): voluntary

Derived terms

• compulsorily
• compulsoriness
• compulsory acquisition
• compulsory education
• compulsory heterosexuality
• compulsoryness
• compulsory purchase
• compulsory purchase order
• non-compulsory
• noncompulsory
• semicompulsory
• uncompulsory

Translations

mandatory — see also mandatory,‎ obligatory

Afrikaans: verpligte Arabic: إِجْبَارِيّ (ʔijbāriyy), إِلْزَامِيّ (ʔilzāmiyy), مَفْرُوض (mafrūḍ) Armenian: պարտադիր (hy) (partadir) Belarusian: абавязко́вы (be) m (abavjazkóvy) Bengali: বাধ্যতামূলক (bn) (baddhotamulok), ওয়াজিব (bn) (ōẇajib), ফরজ (bn) (phoroj) Bulgarian: задължителен (bg) (zadǎlžitelen) Catalan: obligatori (ca) Czech: povinný (cs) m Danish: obligatorisk (da), påbudt Dutch: verplicht (nl) Esperanto: deviga Estonian: kohustuslik, sunduslik, sund- Finnish: pakollinen (fi), pakko- French: obligatoire (fr) Georgian: აუცილებელი (aucilebeli), სავალდებულო (savaldebulo) German: obligatorisch (de), pflichtmäßig (de), gesetzlich (de), verpflichtend (de) Greek: υποχρεωτικός (el) (ypochreotikós) Hebrew: חובה (he) f (khova) Hindi: अनिवार्य (hi) (anivārya) Hungarian: kötelező (hu) Italian: obbligatorio (it), coatto (it) Japanese: 義務的な (ja) (gimuteki na) Malay: wajib (ms) Maori: mātua tutuki Norman: oblyigatouaithe Norwegian: Bokmål: bindende, forpliktende, obligatorisk Old English: ġenīedelīċ Polish: obowiązkowy (pl) Portuguese: obrigatório (pt) Romanian: obligatoriu (ro) m Russian: обяза́тельный (ru) (objazátelʹnyj) Scottish Gaelic: do-sheachanta Spanish: obligatorio (es), mandatorio, obligativo (es) Swedish: obligatorisk (sv) Ukrainian: обов'язко́вий m (obovʺjazkóvyj) Vietnamese: bắt buộc (vi) Yiddish: אָבליגאַטאָריש (obligatorish)

constraining

Afrikaans: verpligtend Armenian: հարկադրական (hy) (harkadrakan) Bulgarian: принуди́телен (bg) (prinudítelen) Finnish: pakottava (fi), pakko-, rajoittava (fi) Georgian: ძალადობრივი (ʒaladobrivi) German: zwangsweise (de), verpflichtend (de) Greek: εξαναγκαστικός (el) (exanagkastikós) Hungarian: kényszerítő (hu) Italian: obbligatorio (it), coatto (it) Japanese: 強制的な (ja) (kyōseiteki na), 否応無しの (ja) (iyaōnashi no) Norwegian: Bokmål: forpliktende Portuguese: compulsório (pt) Romanian: obligator (ro) m, care se cere Russian: принуди́тельный (ru) (prinudítelʹnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: (please verify) واجب حدوثه French: (please verify) obligatoire (fr) Norwegian: (please verify) obligatorisk

Noun

compulsory (plural compulsories)

1. Something that is compulsory or required.
   • 2008 March 22, The Associated Press, “French Victory in Ice Dance”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 26 November 2022:

     Delobel and Schoenfelder failed to win the free dance, but they had built a big lead in the compulsories and the original dance.