mandatory

[man-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

adjective

authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory: It is mandatory that all students take two years of math.

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

Law. permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified: a mandatory clause.

having received a mandate, as a nation.

noun, plural man·da·to·ries.

mandatary.

Origin of mandatory

From the Late Latin word mandātōrius, dating back to 1655–65. See mandate, -tory¹

Related formsman·da·to·ri·ly, adverbnon·man·da·to·ry, adjective, noun, plural non·man·da·to·ries.un·man·da·to·ry, adjective

Synonyms for mandatory

1. requisite, exigent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mandatories

Historical Examples of mandatories

They thus had a whole week in which to frame a mandate and select their mandatories.
History of the Commune of 1871
P. Lissagary
He was compelled to admit the right of the British and French to take over the colonies as mandatories.
Woodrow Wilson and the World War
Charles Seymour
The people always reserves the right to cooperate with its mandatories, which right it practices daily in the galleries.
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 3 (of 6)
Hippolyte A. Taine
Faced by this ominous situation, the "mandatories" took military counter-measures.
The New World of Islam
Lothrop Stoddard
In particular, the mandatories agree to guarantee "equal opportunities for the trade and commerce of other members of the League."
The Problem of Foreign Policy
Gilbert Murray

British Dictionary definitions for mandatories

mandatory

adjective

having the nature or powers of a mandate

obligatory; compulsory

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

noun plural -ries

Also called: mandatary a person or state holding a mandate

Derived Formsmandatorily, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for mandatories

mandatory

adj.

1570s, "of the nature of a mandate," from Late Latin mandatorius "pertaining to a mandator," from Latin mandatus, past participle of mandare (see mandate (n.)). Sense of "obligatory because commanded" is from 1818.