as in obsessive
caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge
his compulsive clowning around can sometimes be annoying
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Examples of compulsive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Remove the color—and therefore fun—from your screen to keep compulsive scrolling in check.
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Cathryne Keller, SELF, 13 Aug. 2024
But these tweens are also living within the context collapse and compulsive instrumentalizing of everyday life that defines the age of the smartphone.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2024
The phenomenon includes compulsive profile browsing without intent to connect, simultaneously engaging with multiple potential partners, and using apps primarily for self-esteem boosts rather than relationship-building.
—Analisa Novak, CBS News, 3 Aug. 2024
In his view, the early Bolsheviks—a closed group of compulsive readers, prolific writers, and utopian thinkers—were an apocalyptic sect, fervent and coercive proselytizers Slezkine likens to various millenarians, such as Münster Anabaptists or Branch Davidians.
—Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for compulsive 
Cathryne Keller, SELF, 13 Aug. 2024
But these tweens are also living within the context collapse and compulsive instrumentalizing of everyday life that defines the age of the smartphone.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2024
The phenomenon includes compulsive profile browsing without intent to connect, simultaneously engaging with multiple potential partners, and using apps primarily for self-esteem boosts rather than relationship-building.
—Analisa Novak, CBS News, 3 Aug. 2024
In his view, the early Bolsheviks—a closed group of compulsive readers, prolific writers, and utopian thinkers—were an apocalyptic sect, fervent and coercive proselytizers Slezkine likens to various millenarians, such as Münster Anabaptists or Branch Davidians.
—Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for compulsive
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'compulsive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Compulsive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compulsive. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
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