Compellable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being compelled to act or respond by force or legal obligation
2. Subject to compulsion or a binding requirement that mandates action
3. Having the quality of being enforceable or required through authority or pressure

Etymology: "Compellable" is a straightforward formation: it combines the verb "compel" with the suffix "-able," which signals capacity or susceptibility. The verb "compel" was borrowed into Middle English from Middle French "compellir," itself drawn from Latin "compellere," meaning "to drive together" or "to force." That Latin verb is built from "con-," meaning "together," and "pellere," meaning "to drive" or "to push," the same root that gives English "expel" and "repulse." The suffix has a longer pedigree. Its ancestry runs through Latin "-bilis" and "-ābilis," which attached to verbs to mean "able to be done," and passed into Old French as "-able." English adopted it in Middle English, where it became a productive way to coin adjectives from verbs. "Compellable" follows that pattern and is inherited into English from Middle English, where the form appeared alongside the verb it grew from.

Synonyms: mandatory, obligatory, enforceable, required

Antonyms: optional, discretionary, voluntary