obligatory

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Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. adjective Morally or legally constraining; binding.
  2. adjective Imposing or recording an obligation: a bill obligatory.
  3. adjective Of the nature of an obligation; compulsory: Attendance is obligatory. Mathematics is an obligatory course.
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Examples (50)

  • To make this customary law obligatory, the assent of all the parties to be bound by it is necessary. —  Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry
  • Another marriage seemed obligatory, and he decided that he would marry his sister Drusilla. —  The Women of the Caesars
  • The executive construction of that treaty was neither just nor obligatory, and he would make no engagement which might be construed into a relinquishment of rights which his constituents deemed indispensable. —  Life And Times Of Washington, Volume 2
  • Tennis whites were obligatory, and her short pleated skirt and singlet top didn't come close to the designer gear Cristina wore. —  Helen Bianchin - The Wedding Ultimatum
  • But because it's sort of obligatory, a few thoughts on the lessons and implications of all this: —  US Market Commentary from Seeking Alpha
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

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  1. = French obligatoire = Spanish obligatorio = Portuguese obrigatorio = Italian obbligatorio, from Late Latin obligatorius, binding, from Latin obligare, bind, oblige: see obligate, oblige.
 

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/ˈɑblɪgətəri/
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