Synonyms of compulsive

compulsive

adjective

kəm-ˈpəl-siv 

as in obsessive

caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge

his compulsive clowning around can sometimes be annoying

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obsessive
• impulsive
• obsessional
• driven
• spontaneous
• automatic
• instinctive
• uncontrollable
• besetting
• irrepressible
• reflex
• mechanical
• unconscious
• unpredictable
• unthinking
• involuntary
• conditioned
• knee-jerk
• whimsical
• capricious
• unwitting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• voluntary
• willful
• manageable
• controllable
• unforced
• resistible

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of compulsive

Casinos offer voluntary self-exclusion programs for compulsive gamblers; birth plans allow devotees of natural labor to deny their future selves an epidural. — Meghan O’Gieblyn, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

This tension came into sharp relief last week, when Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle US claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children, alongside new restrictions intended to curb compulsive use among under-18s. — Amy O’Brien, Vogue, 8 Sep. 2026

Applicants to the list can visit one of 32 in-person sites in Illinois, half of which are casinos, which for compulsive gamblers may invite additional temptation and discourage signup. — CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026

Growing up in the foothills of eastern Kentucky as a compulsive reader and full-time hillbilly, I was instinctively attracted, like most literary-minded country folk, to the work of essayist, novelist, and poet, Wendell Berry. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026