duty-bound

adjective

1. morally obliged as a matter of duty

Idioms and Phrases

Obliged, as in You're duty bound to help your little brother. [c. 1900]

Example Sentences

Bonta said such shifting strategies were the work of a “consistently and brazenly lawless and lawbreaking federal administration,” and that his office was “duty-bound” to fight back and will — as many times as it takes.

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That distance recurs often when he becomes a character in the story — almost as if he feels duty-bound to report his actions, but is unwilling to offer insight about himself.

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To Williams, it hinted at a more menacing scenario — at secret ties between those who threaten the rule of the law and those duty-bound to enforce it.

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It is enshrined in South Korea’s constitution, which states that the president is duty-bound to work toward peaceful reunification.

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“I am therefore duty-bound to reject your recusal request,” he wrote.

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Related Words

• appreciative 
• beholden 
• grateful 
• obligated 
• obliged 
• thankful