obligatory
[uh-blig-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, ob-li-guh-]
- required as a matter of obligation; mandatory: A reply is desirable but not obligatory.
- incumbent or compulsory (usually followed by on or upon): duties obligatory on all.
- imposing moral or legal obligation; binding: an obligatory promise.
- creating or recording an obligation, as a document.
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Origin of obligatory
Synonyms
See more synonyms for obligatory on Thesaurus.com2. necessary, imperative.
Antonyms
2. voluntary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for obligatory
Contemporary Examples
There was also the obligatory shopping spree at the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store across from Central Park.
Yes, they showed up, wore their “Team Mitch” shirts, and joined in the obligatory anti-Obama chants.
I actually quit prefacing my Ralph Nader screeds with the obligatory he-gave-us-the-seatbelt boilerplate years ago.
Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg (Knopf) Obligatory ‘Power’ SubtitleWomen, Work, and the Will to Lead.
Romney, in his obligatory red, white, and blue uniform, did have some well-crafted zingers, but none were particularly poetic.
Historical Examples
In France and in England, it is obligatory also to attend vespers on the Sundays.
Roman Catholicism in SpainAnonymous
The study of these three languages is obligatory in the secondary schools.
Holland, v. 1 (of 2)Edmondo de Amicis
For this is due to a confusion of the good or generous with the obligatory.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish PhilosophyIsaac Husik
They made an obligatory and superficial search through the coal cellar.
Just PattyJean Webster
The presence of women in the synagogue was in many instances not obligatory.
Luna BenamorVicente Blasco Ibez
obligatory
- required to be done, obtained, possessed, etc
- of the nature of or constituting an obligation
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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 obligatory
adj.
c.1400, from Old French obligatoire "creating an obligation, obligatory," and directly from Late Latin obligatorius "binding," from obligat-, past participle stem of obligare (see oblige).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper