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obligate

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obligate¹

  • /ˈɒb.lɪˌɡeɪt/ UK
  • /ˈɑ.blɪˌɡeɪt/ Canada, US

Where it comes from

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

verb obligates · obligating · obligated

  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.

    Similar: also: force: Synonyms

  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.

obligate²

  • /ˈɒb.lɪ.ɡɪt/ UK
  • /ˈɑ.blɪ.ɡɪt/ Canada, US

Where it comes from

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.

adjective more obligate · most obligate

  1. Requiring a (specified) way of life, habitat, etc. [A]nalysis of the chemical composition of their bones reveals that they were obligate carnivores.
  2. Indispensable; essential; necessary; obligatory; mandatory; unavoidably invoked. In addition to being the obligate food source for monarch caterpillars, milkweeds also provide abundant nectar for the adult butterflies.

    Similar: binding, compulsatory, compulsory, decretory, forced, imperative, involuntary, mandatory, nonoptional, obligatory, required, unbewised · Opposite: discretionary, elective, facultative, free, noncompulsory, nonmandatory, nonobligate, nonobligatory, nonrequired, nonrequisite, optional, optionary

  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.

noun obligates

  1. An obligate organism.

Translations

Every language

verb to bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie

Españolobligar
हिन्दीबाध्य bādhya
Portuguêsobrigação
Ελληνικάυποχρεώνω ypochreóno

verb to commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation

Portuguêsobrigação

adj Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role

Русскийоблига́тный obligátnyj

adj Absolutely indispensable; essential

Portuguêsexigido, essencial

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Cite this
MLA

"obligate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obligate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

obligate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obligate

Chicago

"obligate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obligate.

BibTeX
@misc{obligate_2026,
  title = {obligate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obligate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}