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- Dictionaryobligatory/əˈblɪɡət(ə)ri/
adjective
- 1. required by a legal, moral, or other rule; compulsory: "use of seat belts in cars is now obligatory" Similar Opposite
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OBLIGATORY definition: 1. If something is obligatory, you must do it because of a rule or law, etc.: 2. expected because…. Learn more.
1. : binding in law or conscience. The ordinance made it obligatory that homeowners clear the snow from the sidewalks. 2. : relating to or enforcing an obligation. a writ obligatory. 3. : mandatory, required. obligatory military service. also : so commonplace as to be a convention, fashion, or cliché. the obligatory death scene in opera.
Obligatory describes something you do because you have to, not because you want to. When you buy a car, you have to fill out the obligatory forms. In many homes, saying please and thank you is obligatory.
Obligatory definition: required as a matter of obligation; mandatory. See examples of OBLIGATORY used in a sentence.
If something is obligatory, you must do it because of a rule or law, etc.: The medical examination before you start work is obligatory. [ + to infinitive ] The statute made it obligatory for all healthy males between 14 and 60 to work. C2.
adjective. /əˈblɪɡətri/ /əˈblɪɡətɔːri/ (formal) that you must do because of the law, rules, etc. synonym compulsory. The college authorities have now made these classes obligatory. obligatory for somebody These classes are obligatory for all first-year students.
If you describe something as obligatory, you mean that it is done from habit or custom and not because the person involved has thought carefully about it or really means it. His lips curved up in the obligatory smile, acknowledging the compliment. She was wearing the obligatory sweater and pearl necklace.
1. Of the nature of an obligation; compulsory: Attendance is obligatory. Mathematics is an obligatory course. 2. Required as part of a routine course of action or cultural expectation; predictable: "wearing clothing like basketball shoes, baggy pants, and the obligatory baseball cap" (Tyler Stovall). 3. Biology Obligate. o·blig′a·to′ri·ly adv.
OBLIGATORY definition: If something is obligatory, you must do it because of a rule, or because everyone else does it: . Learn more.
required as a matter of obligation; mandatory: A reply is desirable but not obligatory. incumbent or compulsory (usually fol. 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.
