obligatory
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 derives from the verb oblige, as in “after she was so nice, I felt obliged to take her a present.” Some people feel burdened by lives of common obligation, giving presents, returning phone calls, eating birthday cake, attending religious services––none of which they feel any real desire to do.
Definitions of obligatory
-
required by obligation or compulsion or convention
“he made all the
obligatory apologies”-
Synonyms:
-
necessary
absolutely essential
-
necessary
-
morally or legally constraining or binding
“attendance is
obligatory”“an
obligatory contribution”-
Synonyms:
-
bounden
morally obligatory
-
compulsory, mandatory, required
required by rule
-
de rigueur
required by etiquette or usage or fashion
-
imposed
set forth authoritatively as obligatory
-
incumbent on
morally binding or necessary
-
indispensable
unavoidable
-
prerequisite
required as a prior condition or course of study
-
necessary
absolutely essential
-
Antonyms:
-
optional
possible but not necessary; left to personal choice
-
elective
not compulsory
-
ex gratia
as a favor; not compelled by legal right
-
facultative
not compulsory
-
nonmandatory, nonobligatory
not required by rule or law
- show more antonyms…
-
bounden
Word Family