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What is the difference between impel and compel?

3 Answers 3

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To me, impel has a sense of motion/pushing, while compel is more of an obligation. Think of impulse vs. compulsion.

There's also a difference in origin: with impel, the primary force comes from within the object (albeit in response to an outside impetus), while compel comes from outside and acts on the object. I can compel you to do something, but I can only cause you to feel impelled. Or something like that.

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To impel is to push someone or something forward, while to compel is to force someone to do something. The difference is subtle, but usually compel carries a connotation of coercion or obligation. Impel has its roots in the Latin word for "to push forward", while compel comes from that for "to drive together".

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'She stamped her foot, wavered a moment, and then, irresistibly impelled by the naughty spirit within her, slapped me on the cheek: a stinging blow that ..' in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights perfectly illustrates that impelled is the correct choice when the irresistible compulsion (defined in Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Law as "an overpowering impulse produced by mental disease or defect that leads to the commission of a criminal act (as murder)") comes from within. Young, unruly Catherine is not "compelled" by any external mechanism - or irresistible impulse and/or compulsion to pinch and slap Nelly beyond the opportunity to do so, and so it is her naughty nature alone (a moral compulsion) that irresistibly impels her to act or misbehave. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/wuthering/quotes/character/catherine/ https://law.en-academic.com/41242/irresistible_compulsion

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  • This would benefit from having a clear definition of each word. As is stands there seems to be a somewhat circular definition going on. Jul 9, 2022 at 11:08
  • Young, unruly Catherine is not "compelled" by any external mechanism - or irresistible impulse and/or compulsion as legally understood burtonslegalthesaurus.com/- to pinch and slap Nelly beyond the mechanism of opportunity (the opportunity to do so), and so it is her naughty nature alone that (irresistibly) impels her to act (misbehave). Hence the distinction between the two words. Jul 9, 2022 at 17:57
  • You should edit that information into the answer as comments can be removed. Jul 9, 2022 at 18:33