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Definition of "compulsive" []

  • Having the capacity to compel: a frightening, compulsive novel. (adjective)
  • Psychology Caused or conditioned by compulsion or obsession. (adjective)
  • A person with behavior patterns governed by a compulsion. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "compulsive" in a sentence
  • "TO THE ZEEs: Sorry to see you made what I label a compulsive decision."
  • "However, they do tend toward certain compulsive behaviors."
  • "Food obsession falls under the form of self-sabotage I call compulsive self-sabotage, the hardest kind of self-destruction to shake."