obligatory

[ uh-blig-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, ob-li-guh- ]

adjective

1. required as a matter of obligation; mandatory:

   A reply is desirable but not obligatory.

2. incumbent or compulsory (usually followed by on or upon ):

   duties obligatory on all.

   Synonyms: imperative, necessary

   Antonyms: voluntary

3. imposing moral or legal obligation; binding:

   an obligatory promise.

4. creating or recording an obligation, as a document.

obligatory

/ -trɪ; ɒˈblɪɡətərɪ /

adjective

1. required to be done, obtained, possessed, etc
2. of the nature of or constituting an obligation

Derived Forms

• obˈligatorily, adverb

Other Words From

• ob·lig·a·to·ri·ly [uh, -, blig, -, uh, -tawr-, uh, -lee, ‑-tohr‑, ob, -li-g, uh, ‑, uh, -blig-, uh, -, tawr, -, uh, -lee, ‑-, tohr, ‑, ob-li-g, uh, ‑], adverb
• ob·liga·tori·ness noun
• nonob·liga·tori·ly adverb
• nonob·liga·tory adjective
• uno·bliga·tory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obligatory¹

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin obligātōrius binding, equivalent to Latin obligā ( re ) to bind ( obligate ) + -tōrius -tory ¹

Example Sentences

Needless to say, when the North Face sent me a pair of its newest trail shoes, I assumed I’d take them out for one obligatory run and then relegate them to the bottom shelf.

From Outside Online

This became especially problematic when Sanders received the obligatory Gatorade shower as the clock neared zero.

From Washington Post

The “CRISPR babies” episode is now an obligatory chapter in any telling of the gene-editing story.

From MIT Technology Review

Doria and Bolsonaro have also publicly bickered about everything from social distancing to the use of face masks and whether vaccines should be obligatory or not throughout the tumultuous year.

From Fortune

Corporate managers, like most of us, take obligatory duties seriously.

From Fortune

There was also the obligatory shopping spree at the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store across from Central Park.

From The Daily Beast

Unspoken consensus made driving up and down certain streets obligatory and parking in certain places required.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, they showed up, wore their “Team Mitch” shirts, and joined in the obligatory anti-Obama chants.

From The Daily Beast

I actually quit prefacing my Ralph Nader screeds with the obligatory he-gave-us-the-seatbelt boilerplate years ago.

From The Daily Beast

Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg (Knopf) Obligatory ‘Power’ SubtitleWomen, Work, and the Will to Lead.

From The Daily Beast

It was therefore obligatory that purchasers should know his work, that in fact his sign manual should be always present.

From Project Gutenberg

Two duties at least are, therefore, obligatory on him then;—to seek a disposition willingly to vow, and then to make the vow.

From Project Gutenberg

Both are obligatory at the same instant of time, and both might possibly be performed in one moment.

From Project Gutenberg

The principles on which the vow is made, are immutable; and while the Church is on earth, it will continue to be obligatory.

From Project Gutenberg

Commands enjoining Covenanting must be obligatory on men, in an individual, or in a social capacity, or in both.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• compulsory
• de rigueur
• imperative
• mandatory
• requisite
• unavoidable