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Glite Dictionary
financial obligation

financial obligation

4 4.5
An amount of money someone must pay to another person or company
  • noun
  • /faɪˈnænʃəl ˌɑblɪˈɡeɪʃən/
translation icon : obligación financiera
  • Distance and the inability to visit did not diminish grown children's emotional and financial obligations to parents.
  • meet financial obligations
  • external financial obligations
  • own financial obligations

And so you're asked, they're asking the court to maintain a financial obligation on you.

Examples

  • What the US needs is the will to meet the financial obligations, and then it is definitely doable.

    Blog text (13)

  • Take the time to review your expenses and financial obligations to determine what your insurance should cover.

    Blog text (8)

  • When we are able to meet our financial obligations in our personal lives, we are more content.

    Blog text (10)

  • As such, they had no financial obligation to perform teaching duties for her.

    Blog text (31)

  • You may feel angry or frustrated when you are struggling with your financial obligations.

    Blog text (14)

  • I'm calling in reference to a financial obligation you have to Ben Angellelli.

    Fingers (1978)

  • Moreover, his children are only in their twenties, and he still has financial obligations to them.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The social and financial obligations need to be addressed by a series of short- and long-term solutions.

    Academic text (2016)

  • There have been prolonged delays by member states in meeting their financial obligations regarding peacekeeping operations.

    Academic text (1992)

  • He is responsible for his financial obligation to pay back the loan he took out last year.

Synonyms

debt
vsfinancial obligation
∞ 2.6

An amount of money that you owe to someone

is an amount legally required to be paid to another person
liability
vsfinancial obligation
  • Specialized
176 5.1

A legal responsibility to pay money for damage

is the specific monetary amount legally required to be paid
obligation
vsfinancial obligation
  • Formal
136 3.8

A formal legal or financial promise to do what an agreement says, often with a penalty if not kept

is a specific sum of money legally required to be paid

How Much

financial obligation
4 4.5
small fee
9 1.0

Surface Forms

financial obligation singular
financial obligations plural

Morphology

financial + obligation

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'financial' (related to money) + 'obligation' (a binding commitment), so a learner who knows both words can infer an amount legally required to be paid. This noun phrase follows regular English compounding patterns and has close parallels in many languages (e.g. Spanish, French), making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Financial obligation comes from the idea of a money promise: financial means money and an obligation was a written promise to pay someone, like an 'IOU'. So today financial obligation means an amount of money you 'must pay', often by law.