compulsive, OED 2

[Jonathan Lighter]

"Obs."?  Evidently not:

2008 Dennis Ford _The Search for Meaning_ (Berkeley: U. of C. P.) 15:
Conformity and authoritarianism are thus collective strategies for relieving
the anxiety that absolute freedom elicits. We willingly exchange our anxiety
and freedom for compulsive activity and the answers provided by others.
Conformity to the cultural norms...protects us.

Prof. Ford earned his Ph.D. in religion from Syracuse University.

BONUS:

Can you find the error in the OED's entry on "hermeneut"?

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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