different between incite vs compel

English

Etymology

Middle French inciter, from Latin incitare (“to set in motion, hasten, urge, incite”), from in (“in, on”) + citare (“to set in motion, urge”), frequentative of ciere (“to rouse, excite, call”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?n.s?t', IPA^(key): /?n?sa?t/

Verb

incite (third-person singular simple present incites, present participle inciting, simple past and past participle incited)

1. (transitive) To stir up or excite; to rouse or goad into action.

   The judge was told by the accused that his friends had incited him to commit the crime.

Related terms

• incitement
• inciteful
• incitive

Translations

Further reading

• incite in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• incite in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• incite at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• intice

French

Verb

incite

1. first-person singular present indicative of inciter
2. third-person singular present indicative of inciter
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of inciter
4. second-person singular imperative of inciter

Portuguese

Verb

incite

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of incitar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of incitar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of incitar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of incitar

Spanish

Verb

incite

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of incitar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of incitar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of incitar.

English

Etymology

From Middle English compellen, borrowed from Middle French compellir, from Latin compellere, itself from com- (“together”) + pellere (“to drive”). Displaced native Middle English fordriven ("to drive out, to lead to, to compel, to force"), from Old English fordr?fan. More at fordrive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?m?p?l/
• Rhymes: -?l
• Hyphenation: com?pel

Verb

compel (third-person singular simple present compels, present participle compelling, simple past and past participle compelled)

1. (transitive, archaic, literally) To drive together, round up (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. (transitive) To overpower; to subdue.
3. (transitive) To force, constrain or coerce.

   Logic compels the wise, while fools feel compelled by emotions.

   • 1600, William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, act 5, scene 1,

     Against my will, / As Pompey was, am I compell’d to set / Upon one battle all our liberties.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England

     Wolsey […] compelled the people to pay up the whole subsidy at once.

4. (transitive) To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.
5. (obsolete) To force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate.

   • Easy sleep their weary limbs compell'd.

   • ?, Alfred Tennyson, Geraint and Enid

     I compel all creatures to my will.

6. (obsolete) To gather or unite in a crowd or company.

   • in one troop compell'd

7. (obsolete) To call forth; to summon.

Derived terms

Related terms

• compulsion

Translations

References

• compel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “compel” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Random House Webster’s Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.