obligation

American  

[ob-li-gey-shuhn] / ˌɒb lɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. something by which a person is bound or obliged to do certain things, and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc.

   Synonyms:

   responsibility

2. something that is done or is to be done for such reasons.

   to fulfill one's obligations.

3. a binding promise, contract, sense of duty, etc.

4. the act of binding or obliging oneself by a promise, contract, etc.

5. Law.

   1. an agreement enforceable by law, originally applied to promises under seal.

   2. a document containing such an agreement.

   3. a bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for payment of money, performance of covenants, etc.

   Synonyms:

   covenant, contract

6. any bond, note, bill, certificate, or the like, as of a government or a corporation, serving as evidence of indebtedness.

7. an indebtedness or amount of indebtedness.

8. a favor, service, or benefit for which gratitude is due.

9. a debt of gratitude.

   He felt an obligation to his teacher.

10. the state of being under a debt, as of gratitude, for a favor, service, or benefit.

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obligation British  

/ ˌɒblɪˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. a moral or legal requirement; duty

2. the act of obligating or the state of being obligated

3. law a legally enforceable agreement to perform some act, esp to pay money, for the benefit of another party

4. law

   1. a written contract containing a penalty

   2. an instrument acknowledging indebtedness to secure the repayment of money borrowed

5. a person or thing to which one is bound morally or legally

6. something owed in return for a service or favour

7. a service or favour for which one is indebted

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Related Words

See duty.

Other Word Forms

• obligational adjective
• preobligation noun
• reobligation noun
• superobligation noun

Etymology

Origin of obligation

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English obligacioun, from Old French obligation, from Latin obligātiōn-, stem of obligātiō “bond, engagement, pledge,” from obligāt(us) “bound” (past participle of obligāre; obligate ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

To avoid a legal obligation to make sidewalks accessible, the city stopped repaving streets in July and doesn’t plan to resume.

From Los Angeles Times

“Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Michael Butera, chief technical adviser to Rwanda's minister of justice, told the newspaper: "Through arbitration, Rwanda seeks a legal determination of the parties' respective rights and obligations under the treaty, in accordance with international law."

From BBC

She said the platform initially complied with OSA obligations "because we wanted to believe that a determined and prepared regulator in Ofcom could take poor legislation and manage to enforce compliance in a meaningful way".

From BBC

For one, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill predicts the “largest step-up in history” on remaining performance obligations, a measure of backlog, after last quarter’s $392 billion, which reflected accelerating growth of 51%.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• accountability
• agreement
• bond
• burden
• commitment
• constraint
• contract
• debt
• duty
• liability
• necessity
• need
• promise
• requirement
• right
• trust
• understanding