obligation

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obligation

/ˌɒb.lɪˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/ UK
/ˌɑ.blɪˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/ US, dialectal
/ˌɑ.bləˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/ US, dialectal
/ˌɒb.lɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/ Canada, dialectal
/ˌɔb.lɪˈɡæɪ.ʃən/ Australia
/ˌɒb.ləˈɡæɪ.ʃən/ New Zealand
/ˌɔ̟b.ləˈɡæɪ.ʃən/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -eɪʃən

Where it comes from

From Middle English obligacioun, from Old French obligacion, from Latin obligatio, obligationem, from obligatum (past participle of obligare), from ob- (“to”) + ligare (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to bind”).

noun obligations

countable, uncountable The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.
Similar: commitment
countable, uncountable A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action. I feel I'm under obligation to attend my sister's wedding, even though we have a very frosty relationship.
Similar: duty
countable, uncountable A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.
countable, uncountable A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement. The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the
countable Reason for being obliged to, that is, grateful for, something. I am indebted to several friends for notes, observations, and correspondence on this subject, more especially to one, referred to as "Z.," and to another as "Q.," who have obtained a considerable number of reliable histories for me, and have also supplied many valuable notes [...]. Other obligations

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: duty, responsibility, binding, duty-bound, devoir, mandate, liability, compromise, stipulation, obliged, pledge, obligatory, accountability, debt, mandatory, receivable

Translations

Every language

noun act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone

Español	obligación
한국어	의무 uimu, 책임 chaegim
日本語	義務 gimu, 責任 sekinin
中文	義務 /义务 yìwù, 責任 /责任 zérèn
हिन्दी	दायित्व dāyitva, फ़र्ज़ farz, धर्म dharm, कर्तव्य kartavya
Kiswahili	wajibu
Português	obrigação
Français	obligation
Deutsch	Verpflichtung, Pflicht
Italiano	vincolo, obbligo
Ελληνικά	υποχρέωση ypochréosi
Română	obligare, obligație
Русский	обяза́тельство objazátelʹstvo, долг dolg, обя́занность objázannostʹ
Tiếng Việt	nghĩa vụ
العربية	وَاجِب wājib, فَرِيضَة farīḍa, وَظِيفَة waẓīfa, فَرْض farḍ
עברית	חוֹבָה khová, חוֹב khov

noun social, legal, or moral requirement

Español	compromiso, obligación
हिन्दी	नैतिकता naitiktā
Português	obrigação, compromisso
Français	obligation
Italiano	obbligo
Ελληνικά	υποχρέωση ypochréosi
Română	obligație
Русский	обя́занность objázannostʹ, долг dolg

noun course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience

Español	deber, obligación
हिन्दी	नैतिक naitik
Français	obligation
Italiano	dovere
Русский	обя́занность objázannostʹ

noun legal agreement

Español	compromiso, deber, obligación
Français	obligation
Italiano	obbligazione

noun (countable) reason for being obliged, grateful

Français	obligation

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Cite this

MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{obligation_2026,
  title = {obligation},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obligation},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}