Dictionary

obligate en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑ.blɪˌɡeɪt/ (Canada, General-American)
• ŏʹblĭ-gāt' (Canada, General-American)
• ŏbʹlĭ-gāt' (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɒb.lɪˌɡeɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin obligātus, perfect passive participle of obligō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of oblige, taken through French.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie.
   • That progress has taken over ten years and £20 million to bring to fruition. But, as Mands explains, the journey has been one that HSG has been almost obligated to undertake. "First and foremost, this is an environmental project," she says. 2023 December 27, Richard Foster, “New rail freight terminal leads the way”, in RAIL, number 999, page 39:
2. (Canada, Scotland, US, transitive) To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige.
3. (Canada, Scotland, US, transitive) To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.

Forms

Deriveds

obligation · obligatee · obligatory · obligator

Synonyms

also: force: Synonyms (force, compel)

Translations (11)

fi velvoittaa (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · pl zobowiązać (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · pl zobowiązywać (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · bg задължавам (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · pt obrigação (to commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation) · la obligō (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · hi बाध्य (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · el υποχρεώνω (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · pt obrigação (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · la teneo (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie) · es obligar (to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie)

obligate en · ADJ · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑ.blɪ.ɡɪt/ (Canada, General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• ŏʹblĭ-gĭt (Canada, General-American)
• /ˈɒb.lɪ.ɡɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• ŏbʹlĭ-gĭt (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Partly inherited from Middle English obligat(e) (“bound (by any obligation), obliged”), partly directly borrowed from Latin obligātus, see Etymology 1, -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

Meanings

1. Requiring a (specified) way of life, habitat, etc.
   • [A]nalysis of the chemical composition of their bones reveals that they were obligate carnivores. 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: The First 100 Million Years, Penguin, published 2019, page 171:
2. Indispensable; essential; necessary; obligatory; mandatory; unavoidably invoked.
   • Aquatic sites constitute obligate habitat for some species, and are critical breeding habitat for species with complex life cycles involving aquatic egg or larval development. 2009, C. Kenneth Dodd Jr., Amphibian Ecology and Conservation: A Handbook of Techniques, page 304:
   • Unlike for phagotrophic flagellates, bacteria serve as a facultative rather than an obligate food source for crustacean zooplankton. 2012, Ulrich Sommer, Plankton Ecology: Succession in Plankton Communities, page 351:
   • Light is the obligate energy source for the phototrophic microbes constructing these benthic mats 2013, K.C. Marshall, editor, Advances in Microbial Ecology, volume 11, page 472:
   • In addition to being the obligate food source for monarch caterpillars, milkweeds also provide abundant nectar for the adult butterflies.
   • In some languages such signaling is optional, whereas in others it is obligate.
3. (obsolete) Bound by oath, law or duty.
   • The Law sayith, Mack a mendis for thy synne. The Father of Heaven is wraith wyth thee. Quhair is thy rychteousnes, goodnes, and satisfactioun ? Thou art bound and obligat unto me, [to] the devill, and [to] hell. 1559-1566, John Knox, The History of the Reformation in Scotland, book 1, page 25:

Forms

Antonyms

nonmandatory · optionary · nonobligate · nonrequired · free · elective · facultative · optional · voluntary · volitional · nonrequisite · discretionary · unrequired · noncompulsory · nonobligatory

Deriveds

obligately · obligate carrier · nonobligate

Synonyms

compulsatory · obligatory · forced · binding · compulsory · imperative · nonoptional · mandatory · decretory · involuntary · required · unvoluntary · unbewised

Translations (10)

nb uten valgmulighet (Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role) · nb tvungen (Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role) · bg неотменен (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · pt essencial (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · bg задължен (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · nb obligat (Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role) · pt exigido (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · fi obligaatti (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · fi välttämätön (Absolutely indispensable; essential) · ru облига́тный (Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role)

obligate en · NOUN · etymology 2

Etymology

Partly inherited from Middle English obligat(e) (“bound (by any obligation), obliged”), partly directly borrowed from Latin obligātus, see Etymology 1, -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

Meanings

1. An obligate organism.

Forms

Relateds

oblige · obliger · obligee · obligor