obligated

[ob-li-gey-tid]

adjective

1. bound by law or regulation, moral principle, duty, etc.; obliged.

   My supervisors talked with me regularly about my ambitions and struggles, not because they felt obligated, but because they truly cared.

2. (of funds, property, etc.) pledged, committed, or bound, as to meet an obligation.

   If a parent is unable to pay the obligated amount, they are free to request the court to modify the child support order.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of obligate.

Other Word Forms

• nonobligated adjective
• quasi-obligated adjective
• unobligated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obligated¹

First recorded in 1730–40; obligate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ); for the adjective senses; obligate ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Options are similar to futures but grant the holder the choice to buy or sell gold at a specific price on a date in the future without making them obligated to do so.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The White House also suggested it isn’t obligated to give back pay to furloughed employees.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Legally, the company is not obligated to make any public statements about the breach as long as it has notified all individuals affected through other means.

Read more on BBC

The three-judge bench said on Sunday that the state was legally obligated to provide prisoners with enough nutrition to ensure "a basic level of existence".

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The portion, which the authority is obligated to prioritize unless the legislature says otherwise, will cost nearly $37 billion.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• compelled 
• duty-bound 
• enslaved 
• indebted 
• obliged