Meanings
obligate1
present singular third person obligates · participle present obligating · participle past obligated · past obligated
- transitiveTo 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 39Synonyms: also: force: Synonyms
- CanadaScotlandUStransitiveTo commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.
obligate2
comparative more obligate · superlative most obligate
- biologyRequiring a (specified) way of life, habitat, etc.First known use 19th c.
[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 - Indispensable; essential; necessary; obligatory; mandatory; unavoidably invoked.
In some languages such signaling is optional, whereas in others it is obligate.
4 more examples
In addition to being the obligate food source for monarch caterpillars, milkweeds also provide abundant nectar for the adult butterflies.
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 304Unlike 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 351Light 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 472Synonyms: binding, compulsatory, compulsory, decretory, forced, imperative, involuntary, mandatory · Antonyms: discretionary, elective, facultative, free, noncompulsory, nonmandatory, nonobligate, nonobligatory
- obsoleteBound by oath, law or duty.First known use up to 17th c.
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
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie.
adjectiveIndispensable; essential; necessary; obligatory; mandatory; unavoidably invoked.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiverestricted to a particular condition of life
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
obligate · verb
- Latinobligātus
- Englishobligate
First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin obligātus, perfect passive participle of obligō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of oblige, taken through French.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →obligate · adjective, noun
- Latinobligātus
- Middle Englishobligat(e)“bound (by any obligation), obliged”
- Englishobligate
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.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian задължавам, задължен
- задължавам (zadălžavam)to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
- задължен (zadălžen)Absolutely indispensable; essential
- неотменен (neotmenen)Absolutely indispensable; essential
Finnish velvoittaa, obligaatti
- velvoittaato bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
- obligaattiAbsolutely indispensable; essential
- välttämätönAbsolutely indispensable; essential
Greek υποχρεώνω
- υποχρεώνω (ypochreóno)to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
Hindi बाध्य
- बाध्य (bādhya)to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
Latin obligō, teneo
- obligōto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
- teneoto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
Norwegian Bokmål obligat, tvungen
- obligatAble to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role
- tvungenAble to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role
- uten valgmulighetAble to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role
Polish zobowiązywać, zobowiązać
- zobowiązywaćto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
- zobowiązaćto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
Portuguese obrigação, obrigação
- obrigaçãoto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
- obrigaçãoto commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation
- exigidoAbsolutely indispensable; essential
- essencialAbsolutely indispensable; essential
Russian облига́тный
- облига́тный (obligátnyj)Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role
Spanish obligar
- obligarto bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie
Cite this entry
obligate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obligate
“obligate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obligate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obligate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obligate.
Source: obligate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.