Compulsive
adjective
Having a strong urge to do something continuously, often something that is not reasonable.
He's a compulsive liar so you can't believe anything he says.
Often appears as...
- compulsive liar
- compulsive eating
adjective
Related to an activity that you cannot stop doing because it is an addiction.
Compulsive gambling is a serious problem for some people.
Often appears as...
- compulsive gambling
- compulsive shopping
adjective
Describing a positive or healthy habit that you feel compelled to do because it makes you feel good or satisfied.
His compulsive attention to detail makes him an excellent editor.
Often appears as...
- compulsive need
- compulsive desire
Usage tips
Approving
adjective
Having a strong urge to do something continuously, often something that is not reasonable.
He's a compulsive liar so you can't believe anything he says.
Often appears as...
- compulsive liar
- compulsive eating
adjective
Related to an activity that you cannot stop doing because it is an addiction.
Compulsive gambling is a serious problem for some people.
Often appears as...
- compulsive gambling
- compulsive shopping
adjective
Describing a positive or healthy habit that you feel compelled to do because it makes you feel good or satisfied.
His compulsive attention to detail makes him an excellent editor.
Often appears as...
- compulsive need
- compulsive desire
Usage tips
Approving
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Aspect
Indicates a harmful pattern or undesirable trait, often excessive.
Her compulsive need to clean left no time for relaxation.
Pro Tip 2/3Emotional Impact
Shows an action driven by strong feelings rather than reason.
His compulsive apologies revealed his deep insecurity.
Pro Tip 3/3Hyperbolic Usage
Can be exaggerated to stress the intensity of a habit or behavior.
She calls herself a compulsive coffee drinker because she enjoys it so much.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Aspect
Indicates a harmful pattern or undesirable trait, often excessive.
Her compulsive need to clean left no time for relaxation.
Pro Tip 2/3Emotional Impact
Shows an action driven by strong feelings rather than reason.
His compulsive apologies revealed his deep insecurity.
Pro Tip 3/3Hyperbolic Usage
Can be exaggerated to stress the intensity of a habit or behavior.
She calls herself a compulsive coffee drinker because she enjoys it so much.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Aspect
Indicates a harmful pattern or undesirable trait, often excessive.
Her compulsive need to clean left no time for relaxation.
Pro Tip 2/3Emotional Impact
Shows an action driven by strong feelings rather than reason.
His compulsive apologies revealed his deep insecurity.
Pro Tip 3/3Hyperbolic Usage
Can be exaggerated to stress the intensity of a habit or behavior.
She calls herself a compulsive coffee drinker because she enjoys it so much.
Compare with
addictcontrollableimpulsiveinstinctiveinvoluntaryirresistibleobsessiveurgent
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Video examples
Depressed dogs, cats...
and once we feel them, we then are motivated to move away from whatever is dangerous. The problem is when we begin to feel fear and anxiety in situations that don't call for it. Mood disorders, too, may actually just be the unfortunate downside of being a feeling animal, and obsessive compulsive disorders also
Video examples
Brian Goldman: Doctors...
with the admonition, be perfect. Never ever, ever make a mistake, but you worry about the details, about how that's going to happen. And that was the message that I absorbed when I was in med school. I was an obsessive compulsive student. In high school, a classmate once said
Video examples
How porn changes the way...
And it probably is not instantly poisoning their minds or turning them into compulsive users, the way that some ideologues would have you believe. It's a rare person who doesn't see some pornography in their youth. By the time they're 18 years old,
Video examples
How we can find...
and not only our activities. Like at week number three, where we tracked the "thank yous" we said and were received, and when I realized that I thank mostly people that I don't know. Apparently I'm a compulsive thanker to waitresses and waiters,
Video examples
Mentally-Ill Billionaire...
stretched in two months Hughes relied more and more on his painkillers his personal hygiene deteriorated rapidly but at the same time he became more and more obsessed with avoiding germs all manifestations of obsessive compulsive disorder after
Video examples
Debunking the myths of...
like excessive hand washing, or checking things repeatedly, may be examples of obsessive or compulsive tendencies that many of us exhibit from time to time. But the actual disorder is far more rare and can be quite debilitating.
Video examples
Time Debt PIPE Linda...
that it's become an affliction the disease of our era so I got myself to a couple of debtors Anonymous meetings and I read everything I could that they offered in all of it rocked my world especially a symptom of compulsive
Video examples
Performing brain surgery...
such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The pain of a cancer diagnosis can be devastating, but advancements in these non-invasive procedures are paving a pathway for a more gentle cure.
Video examples
Can we choose to fall...
even the compulsive parts. It isn't a neat, symmetrical Valentine's heart. It's bodily, it's systemic, it is a hideous pair of ram's horns buried somewhere deep within your skull,
Video examples
How isolation fuels...
on involuntary movements and compulsive behaviors all converge in the striatum. And the striatum and opioid signaling in it has been deeply linked with loneliness.
Video examples
Depressed dogs, cats...
and once we feel them, we then are motivated to move away from whatever is dangerous. The problem is when we begin to feel fear and anxiety in situations that don't call for it. Mood disorders, too, may actually just be the unfortunate downside of being a feeling animal, and obsessive compulsive disorders also
Video examples
Brian Goldman: Doctors...
with the admonition, be perfect. Never ever, ever make a mistake, but you worry about the details, about how that's going to happen. And that was the message that I absorbed when I was in med school. I was an obsessive compulsive student. In high school, a classmate once said
Video examples
How porn changes the way...
And it probably is not instantly poisoning their minds or turning them into compulsive users, the way that some ideologues would have you believe. It's a rare person who doesn't see some pornography in their youth. By the time they're 18 years old,
Video examples
How we can find...
and not only our activities. Like at week number three, where we tracked the "thank yous" we said and were received, and when I realized that I thank mostly people that I don't know. Apparently I'm a compulsive thanker to waitresses and waiters,
Video examples
Mentally-Ill Billionaire...
stretched in two months Hughes relied more and more on his painkillers his personal hygiene deteriorated rapidly but at the same time he became more and more obsessed with avoiding germs all manifestations of obsessive compulsive disorder after
Video examples
Debunking the myths of...
like excessive hand washing, or checking things repeatedly, may be examples of obsessive or compulsive tendencies that many of us exhibit from time to time. But the actual disorder is far more rare and can be quite debilitating.
Video examples
Time Debt PIPE Linda...
that it's become an affliction the disease of our era so I got myself to a couple of debtors Anonymous meetings and I read everything I could that they offered in all of it rocked my world especially a symptom of compulsive
Video examples
Performing brain surgery...
such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The pain of a cancer diagnosis can be devastating, but advancements in these non-invasive procedures are paving a pathway for a more gentle cure.
Video examples
Can we choose to fall...
even the compulsive parts. It isn't a neat, symmetrical Valentine's heart. It's bodily, it's systemic, it is a hideous pair of ram's horns buried somewhere deep within your skull,
Video examples
How isolation fuels...
on involuntary movements and compulsive behaviors all converge in the striatum. And the striatum and opioid signaling in it has been deeply linked with loneliness.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jens Lekman
Swedish Musician
When I was a kid, I had a period in my life when I was eight or nine when I was so scared of dying that I wouldn't go out of our house for a whole year. I refused to step out of the door because I thought something would happen. I had all these compulsive thoughts or whatever, and my head was really messed up.
Quote examples
Rick Pitino
American Athlete
Technology is a compulsive and addictive way to live. Verbal communication cannot be lost because of a lack of skill. The ability to listen and learn is key to mastering the art of communication. If you don't use your verbal skills and networking, it will disappear rapidly. Use technology wisely.
Quote examples
Rem Koolhaas
Dutch Architect
I think one of the important evolutions is that we no longer feel compulsively the need to argue, or to justify things on a kind of rational level. We are much more willing to admit that certain things are completely instinctive and others are really intellectual.
Quote examples
Ian Mcewan
British Author
My parents were keen for me to have the education they themselves never had. They weren't able to guide me towards particular books, but they encouraged me to read, which I did, randomly and compulsively.
Quote examples
Harold Pinter
English Dramatist
Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it, but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task.
Quote examples
Bette Davis
American Actress
I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies. Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless.
Quote examples
Josephine de La Baume
French Actress
I'm quite compulsive about exercise. For two months, I'll exercise every day, then for three months I'll do nothing. I love food, so exercise is important for me.
Quote examples
Mae Martin
Canadian Comedian
It's a universal experience to be compulsively doing something that's damaging your life.
Quote examples
Dimebag Darrell
American Musician
I really respect Zakk Wylde's guitar playing and his compulsive work ethic.
Quote examples
Conchata Ferrell
I'm a compulsive overeater. It's something I need help to work on.
Quote examples
Jens Lekman
Swedish Musician
When I was a kid, I had a period in my life when I was eight or nine when I was so scared of dying that I wouldn't go out of our house for a whole year. I refused to step out of the door because I thought something would happen. I had all these compulsive thoughts or whatever, and my head was really messed up.
Quote examples
Rick Pitino
American Athlete
Technology is a compulsive and addictive way to live. Verbal communication cannot be lost because of a lack of skill. The ability to listen and learn is key to mastering the art of communication. If you don't use your verbal skills and networking, it will disappear rapidly. Use technology wisely.
Quote examples
Rem Koolhaas
Dutch Architect
I think one of the important evolutions is that we no longer feel compulsively the need to argue, or to justify things on a kind of rational level. We are much more willing to admit that certain things are completely instinctive and others are really intellectual.
Quote examples
Ian Mcewan
British Author
My parents were keen for me to have the education they themselves never had. They weren't able to guide me towards particular books, but they encouraged me to read, which I did, randomly and compulsively.
Quote examples
Harold Pinter
English Dramatist
Truth in drama is forever elusive. You never quite find it, but the search for it is compulsive. The search is clearly what drives the endeavour. The search is your task.
Quote examples
Bette Davis
American Actress
I am doomed to an eternity of compulsive work. No set goal achieved satisfies. Success only breeds a new goal. The golden apple devoured has seeds. It is endless.
Quote examples
Josephine de La Baume
French Actress
I'm quite compulsive about exercise. For two months, I'll exercise every day, then for three months I'll do nothing. I love food, so exercise is important for me.
Quote examples
Mae Martin
Canadian Comedian
It's a universal experience to be compulsively doing something that's damaging your life.
Quote examples
Dimebag Darrell
American Musician
I really respect Zakk Wylde's guitar playing and his compulsive work ethic.
Quote examples
Conchata Ferrell
I'm a compulsive overeater. It's something I need help to work on.
Example 1 of 10
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