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Glite Dictionary
📜 To require 💰 To set aside 🦠 Needing one way
to obligate

to obligate

89 6.7
Make someone legally or morally have to do something
  • verb
  • /ˈɑːblɪɡeɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : obligar (a)
  • As such, the police were obligated to obtain additional consent to search the other items in the room.
  • feel obligated
  • legally obligated
  • obligated to pay

But yeah, the UEFA obviously like obligated us to play.

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Examples

  • Forgive me, Your Honor, but are we not obligated to follow the law at all times, regardless of our emotions?

    The Conspirator (2011)

  • Thus, in the first hypothetical situation, Michelle was legally obligated to pay the landlord.

    Academic text (1991)

  • As an officer of the court, I was obligated to hand it over.

    I Can't Breathe (God Forgive Them) (2022)

  • I felt obligated to come clean and tell them the truth.

    Countdown (2019)

  • That doesn't obligate me one little bit.

    Shanghai Surprise (1986)

  • It's the start of the last week, and he feels obligated to be there.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Ted was obligated to save the situation.

    The Story of Seabiscuit (1949)

  • If it falls below investment grade, by law, you are obligated to get rid of those assets.

  • The collapse of Soviet communism has obligated the U.S. military to reassess its various missions.

    Academic text (1993)

  • As a firefighter, I am obligated to follow all safety protocols during an emergency.

Synonyms

to make
vsto obligate
∞ 1.0

To force someone to do something

is legal or moral binding specifically, not just general causing or compelling
to force
vsto obligate
∞ 2.3

To make someone do something by using power or pressure

is legal or moral binding rather than the use of power
to compel
vsto obligate
258 4.8

Force someone to do something or make them feel they must

is legal or moral binding rather than general pressure to act
to bind
vsto obligate
  • Formal
216 4.4

To make someone legally required to do something

is a broader legal or moral bond not limited to formal agreements
to mandate
vsto obligate
  • Formal
169 4.9

To officially require someone to do something

is legal or moral binding rather than only an official order
to coerce
vsto obligate
  • Offensive
91 6.4

Force someone to do something by threats

is legal or moral binding rather than forcing by threats
to oblige
vsto obligate
  • Formal
72 4.5

To make someone do something because the law or rules say so

is legal or moral binding rather than only practical necessity
to constrain
vsto obligate
64 5.6

To limit what someone can do or how they can act

is direct legal or moral compulsion rather than indirect limitation of choice

Antonyms

to excuse
∞ 1.5

Allow someone to leave a place or activity

to release
∞ 1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

Compounds

obligate anaerobe
  • Specialized
8.4

A living thing like some bacteria that cannot live where there is oxygen

How Strong

to force
∞ 2.3
to compel
258 4.8
to obligate
  • Formal
89 6.7
to require
∞ 1.1
to request
∞ 1.0
to ask
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

obligate infinitive
obligated past
obligated past participle
obligating present participle
obligates third person singular

Morphology

obligate = oblige (transparent) = oblig + ate

This verb sense is a straightforward verbal derivation from 'oblige' with the productive suffix '-ate' meaning 'to make or render', so learners knowing 'oblige' can infer it.

Etymology

Obligate comes from the Latin root ligare 'to bind', the same idea you see in obligation. So to obligate someone is to 'tie' them to a duty or rule, making them legally or morally required to act.