oblige
[uh-blahyj]
- to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience, or force of necessity.
- to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract.
- to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service: I'm much obliged for the ride.
- to put (one) in a debt of gratitude, as by a favor or accommodation: Mr. Weems will oblige us with a song.
- to make (an action, policy, etc.) necessary or obligatory: Your carelessness obliges firmness on my part.
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- to be kindly accommodating: I'll do anything within reason to oblige.
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Origin of oblige
Synonyms
See more synonyms for oblige on Thesaurus.com1. compel, force. 2. obligate.
Synonym study
4. Oblige, accommodate imply making a gracious and welcome gesture of some kind. Oblige emphasizes the idea of conferring a favor or benefit (and often of taking some trouble to do it): to oblige someone with a loan. Accommodate emphasizes doing a service or furnishing a convenience: to accommodate someone with lodgings and meals.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for obliged
Contemporary Examples
There, so taken, caught in the act, flat-footed, we are obliged to make our stand.
After each session, she would sit with those who obliged and speak to them about their past, problems and desires.
No soldier is obliged to obey a law contrary to the law of God.
Why Pope Francis Wants to Declare Murdered Archbishop Romero a SaintChristopher Dickey
August 24, 2014
Now that we have gotten over these multifarious horribles, we are obliged to ponder the bigger picture.
Rather than helplessly obeying the dictates of management, workers are obliged to do what union bosses tell them.
Historical Examples
He never ceased to feel cheated when he was obliged to ride in New York.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
I think, on the whole, I shan't be obliged to learn to braid straw.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
Sometimes he packed clumsily, and she was obliged to do his work over.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
I was once a poor boy myself, obliged to struggle for my living.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
Only Ambrose was, at parting for the night, obliged to ask him for the key of the gate.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
oblige
- (tr; often passive) to bind or constrain (someone to do something) by legal, moral, or physical means
- (tr; usually passive) to make indebted or grateful (to someone) by doing a favour or servicewe are obliged to you for dinner
- to do a service or favour to (someone)she obliged the guest with a song
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French obliger, from Latin obligāre, from ob- to, towards + ligāre to bind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for obliged
adj.
c.1600, past participle adjective from oblige. To be obliged "be bound by ties of gratitude" is from 1540s.
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oblige
v.
c.1300, "to bind by oath," from Old French obligier "engage one's faith, commit (oneself), pledge" (13c.), from Latin obligare "to bind, bind up, bandage," figuratively "put under obligation," from ob "to" (see ob-) + ligare "to bind," from PIE root *leig- "to bind" (see ligament). Main modern meaning "to make (someone) indebted by conferring a benefit or kindness" is from 1560s. Related: obliged; obliging.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper