Revised as of
30 June 2023
In this word confusion, both compel and impel are about taking action, but compel forces you to act via fear, no matter what you really want while impel is a persuasion based on your beliefs, that it’s the right thing to do.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Compel | Impel |
|---|---|
Let’s Rodeo! by Larry Johnson is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — I’d say that cowboy is compelling that steer to the ground. |
Free Climbing by Björn Söderqvist is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. — What impels people to climb a vertical wall? |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: compels |
Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: impels |
| Force or drive someone to take action by making that person fear the consequences of not doing so
Verb, intransitive: To use force To have a powerful and irresistible effect, influence, etc. Verb, transitive:
Exact [Archaic] To drive together
|
Persuade someone to take action on moral or ethical grounds
Drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something
|
| Examples: | |
| Verb, intransitive: “From the tenor of Obama’s recent words about Afghanistan, one would suppose he is doing the best he thinks possible now — namely, getting out — but at the speed his domestic opponents compel, that is, more slowly than he knows it would be right to do” (Bromwich). Verb, transitive: Her guardian can compel her obedience. His disregard of the rules compels us to dismiss him. They may compel a witness’s attendance at court by issue of a summons. We are, by heav’n’s high will, compell’d from shore to shore. |
It is a lack of equality that impels the oppressed to fight.
What impels you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? We must feel our need, the distress that drives and impels us to cry out. Vital energies impelled him in unforeseen directions. But oddly, it is also the women, and that damned dress, who impel her forward. At critical moments, it trips them, or causes them to stumble, or impels them to make a rash, unpremeditated move. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: compellable, compelling Adverb: compellably, compellingly Noun: compeller, compelling, compulsion |
Adjective: unimpelled Noun: impeller, impelling |
| History of the Word: | |
| Late Middle English from the Latin compellere, is from com- (together) + pellere (drive). | Late Middle English, in the sense of propel, is from the Latin impellere, from in- (towards) + pellere (to drive). |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Compel versus Impel
Apple Dictionary.com
Bromwich, David. “One More War, Please.” The Huffington Post. 7 Aug 2010. Last updated 25 May 2011. Web. n.d. <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/one-more-war-please_b_674357>.
Dictionary.com: compel
Oxford Dictionaries: impel
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Marines Apprehend Violent Protesters, Fort Howard, Panama, by LCPL Michael I. Gonzalez, USMC, courtesy of the Collection – US Marine Corps is in the public domain, via Public Domain Media
