Differences Flashcards
Compel, impel, propel
pel means “to drive,” as in the way one drives sheep, forcing them to go in a certain direction.
compel: To urge irresistibly, oblige, force.
“The police compelled the motorist to stop.”
impel: To drive, force, or constrain a person to some action by acting upon her mind or feelings; to urge on.
to cause something to move onward. An engine, for example, impels a vehicle.
propel: To drive away or out. to drive.
Figuratively, propel means “to encourage or promote an enterprise or activity.” One can “propel a person” in the sense of urging or spurring him on.
Compel conveys the idea that the person is being forced to do it; propel shows that the person is encouraged to do it by the same “what” that forces him to do it.
Three other pellere verbs in English are:
dispel: to drive asunder, scatter
expel: to drive out
repel: to push or thrust away
