obligatory

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈblɪɡəˌtɔri/ UK /əˈblɪɡətri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
required by a rule, law, or custom; compulsory

Attendance at the safety briefing is obligatory for all staff.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · required by a rule, law, or... compulsory mandatory required binding imperative requisite

Opposites

optional voluntary discretionary elective

Word family

Derived forms obligatorilyobligatoriness

Related forms oblige obligate obligation ligature

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

obligatory contribution
a payment or other contribution that rules require someone to make

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Late Latin obligatorius ('binding'), from Latin obligare ('to bind to'), from ob- ('to') plus ligare ('to bind').

obligatorius Late Latin ligare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# obligatory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈblɪɡəˌtɔri/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈblɪɡətri/

## Meanings
1. required by a rule, law, or custom; compulsory

## Examples
- Attendance at the safety briefing is obligatory for all staff.

## Synonyms
- compulsory
- mandatory
- required
- binding
- imperative
- requisite

## Antonyms
- optional
- voluntary
- discretionary
- elective

## Derived Forms
- obligatorily
- obligatoriness

## Related Forms
- oblige
- obligate
- obligation
- ligature

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: obligatorius
- Root: ligare

## Etymology
From Late Latin obligatorius ('binding'), from Latin obligare ('to bind to'), from ob- ('to') plus ligare ('to bind').

## AI Etymology
Obligatory is from Late Latin obligatorius ('binding'), from Latin obligare ('to bind to'), from ob- ('to') plus ligare ('to bind'). Important recorded forms include obligatorius (Late Latin) and ligare (Latin). The current sense covers required by a rule, law, or custom; compulsory. The wider family includes derived forms such as obligatorily and obligatoriness and related words such as oblige, obligate, obligation, and ligature.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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