mandatory

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈmæn.dəˌt(ɔ)ɹi/ UK /ˈmæn.də.t(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #11182

Meanings

1

adj
Required by a rule or law; that must be done.

Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory in this country.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · required by a rule or law;... compulsory obligatory required

Word family

Derived forms mandatorilymandatorinessnonmandatorysupermandatory

Related forms mandative

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mandatory injunction
a court order requiring someone to carry out a specified action

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Late Latin mandatorius (“of or belonging to a mandator”), from mandātor (“one who commands”), equivalent to mandate + -ory; see mandate.

*deh₃- Proto-Indo-European mandatorius la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# mandatory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmæn.dəˌt(ɔ)ɹi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmæn.də.t(ə)ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 11182

## Meanings
1. Required by a rule or law; that must be done.

## Examples
- Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory in this country.

## Derived Forms
- mandatorily
- mandatoriness
- nonmandatory
- supermandatory

## Related Forms
- mandative

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *deh₃-
- Root: mandatorius

## Etymology
From Late Latin mandatorius (“of or belonging to a mandator”), from mandātor (“one who commands”), equivalent to mandate + -ory; see mandate.

## AI Etymology
Mandatory comes from Late Latin mandatorius (“of or belonging to a mandator”), from mandātor (“one who commands”), equivalent to mandate + -ory; see mandate. The historical chain includes *deh₃- (Proto-Indo-European) and mandatorius (Late Latin). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as mandatorily, mandatoriness, nonmandatory, and supermandatory and related forms such as mandative. In present use it covers required by a rule or law; that must be done.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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