mandatory
Americanadjective
-
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
mandatoriesadjective
-
having the nature or powers of a mandate
-
obligatory; compulsory
-
(of a state) having received a mandate over some territory
noun
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fire officials requested mandatory evacuations for a large area north of Ramona Expressway and east of Lake Perris on Friday afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
Those amounts do not consider mandatory spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
By then, World Athletics had tightened its rules after the 2016 Rio Olympics, when all three medallists in the women's 800 metre final were DSD athletes, introducing mandatory sex testing in 2025.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Surfshark, also headquartered in Amsterdam, benefits from strong privacy protections and no mandatory data retention laws.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Soma was yearning aloud for one more Big Thing as she approached mandatory retirement.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
