incumbent
23
7.2
- adjective
- /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/
- Formal
:
obligatorio
- And as someone who serves in the government, both as an assistant district attorney and as a mayor of a city and on a city council, it's incumbent upon representatives of the people to tell the people the truth.
- incumbent on teachers
- incumbent on schools
- incumbent on educators
And we, it is incumbent upon us.
- And we, it is incumbent upon us.
- No, they confront us equally as things incumbent upon us.
- And now it's incumbent upon me to, to do the best work I can with the tools that I have.
- And I'm just bummed because, you know, it's incumbent upon me as a talk show host to know I have a funny thing to tell a guest.
- I mean, it's not incumbent upon the police or the judge or the prosecutor or the city to tell a criminal defendant what the laws are.
- And I think it is people, it should be incumbent on people to know their own ignorance on this.
- And because of that Scripture, Jehovah's Witnesses say, ha, this means that this prohibition on blood was also incumbent on Christians.
- No, I think that the, the most important thing is to have trust in the people that you work with and that is incumbent on you.
- Do you think it's incumbent on people to continue going for those kinds of people until they find one that turns around to meet them?
- I also felt that it was incumbent on someone like me who tries to avoid boxing myself into partisan political camps.
Examples
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When the government goes off the rails, driven by ego and obsession, it's incumbent upon its citizens to guide the government back on course.
-
Actually, it's incumbent on big corporations to find bright, young men.
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And it's incumbent upon you, not your kid, to change that.
-
However, it is incumbent upon me to stake out a position.
Academic text (1993) -
Now, it is incumbent upon us lawyers not to just talk about the truth... ...but to actually seek it, to find it, to live it.
-
Consequently, it became incumbent upon the government to explore alternative methods.
Academic text (1999) -
Nevertheless, it is incumbent on professors to identify what is to be studied within our social context.
Academic text (1996) -
Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to protect yourself from this ambiguity in any interim agreement.
Academic text (2000) -
As your Principle, it is incumbent upon me to address your recent rash of delinquent behavior.
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As a teacher, it is incumbent upon me to ensure that all my students understand the material.
Synonyms
27
5.3
Required by law, rule, or authority
7
7.3
Required as a duty for someone because of their job
Required by moral duty or law
Something a rule, law, or official says you must have
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
How Obligatory
Surface Forms
Morphology
incumbent = in + cumb + ent
The sense 'imposed as a duty' is historically related to the literal idea 'lying upon', so there is a semantic connection, but the Latin morphemes are not obvious to learners, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Incumbent comes from Latin parts in- 'on' and cumbere 'to lie', so it once meant something that 'lies on' a person. That's why a duty that is incumbent on you is one that rests on you and is your responsibility.