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Synonyms

mandatory

American  
[man-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈmæn dəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

adjective

  1. authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory.

    It is mandatory that all students take two years of math.
    Synonyms:
    exigent, requisite

  2. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a command.

  3. Law. permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified.

    a mandatory clause.

  4. having received a mandate, as a nation.

noun

plural

mandatories

  1. mandatary.

mandatory British  
/ ˈmændətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

  1. having the nature or powers of a mandate

  2. obligatory; compulsory

  3. (of a state) having received a mandate over some territory

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. Also called: mandatary.  a person or state holding a mandate

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • mandatorily adverb
  • nonmandatory adjective
  • unmandatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of mandatory

From the Late Latin word mandātōrius, dating back to 1655–65. See mandate, -tory 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.