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Compulsory vs Encourage - What's the difference?

compulsory | encourage |

As an adjective compulsory

is required; obligatory; mandatory.

As a noun compulsory

is something that is compulsory or required.

As a verb encourage is

to mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.

compulsory

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Required; obligatory; mandatory.
  • * 1827 , A. D. Jr., Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal , A. and C. Black, page 212:
    • They are entirely private concerns, established by individual teachers, and attendance upon them is no more compulsory than attendance on our dispensaries.
  • * 1996 , (Ugo Pagano), Democracy and Efficiency in the Economic Enterprise , page 73:
    • Some might agree that membership in the firm is perhaps more compulsory than membership in a municipality, but balk at applying the analogy to the nation.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)
    • , volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Finland spreads word on schools , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}
  • Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

    • Synonyms

    * mandatory

    Antonyms

    * (required) optional

    Noun

    (compulsories)
  • Something that is compulsory or required.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2008, date=March 22, author=The Associated Press, title=French Victory in Ice Dance, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Delobel and Schoenfelder failed to win the free dance, but they had built a big lead in the compulsories and the original dance. }}

    encourage

    English

    Verb

    (encourag)
  • To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
    • I encouraged him during his race.
  • To spur on, strongly recommend.
    • We encourage the use of bicycles in the town centre.
  • To foster, give help or patronage
    • ''The royal family has always encouraged the arts in word and deed

    Synonyms

    * (l) * (l)

    Antonyms

    * discourage

    Derived terms

    * encouragement * encouraging * encouragingly

    Related terms

    * courage