OBLIGATE

obligate

(adjective) restricted to a particular condition of life; “an obligate anaerobe can survive only in the absence of oxygen”

oblige, bind, hold, obligate

(verb) bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; “He’s held by a contract”; “I’ll hold you by your promise”

obligate

(verb) commit in order to fulfill an obligation; “obligate money”

compel, oblige, obligate

(verb) force somebody to do something; “We compel all students to fill out this form”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

obligate (third-person singular simple present obligates, present participle obligating, simple past and past participle obligated)

(transitive, North America, Scottish) To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie.

(transitive, North America, Scottish) To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige.

(transitive, North America, Scottish) To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.

Usage notes

In non-legal usage, almost exclusively used in the passive, in form “obligated to X” where ‘X’ is a verb infinitive or noun phrase, as in “obligated to pay”. Further, it is now only in standard use in American English and some dialects such as Scottish, having disappeared from standard British English by the 20th century, being replaced by obliged (it was previously used in the 17th through 19th centuries).

Synonyms

• (force, compel): See also: force: Synonyms

Adjective

obligate (comparative more obligate, superlative most obligate)

(biology) Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role.

Absolutely indispensable; essential.

Antonyms

• facultative

• optional

Source: Wiktionary


Ob"li*gate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obligated; p. pr. & vb. n. Obligating.] Etym: [L. obligatus, p.p. of obligare. See Oblige.]

1. To bring or place under obligation, moral or legal; to hold by a constraining motive. "Obligated by a sense of duty." Proudfit. That's your true plan -- to obligate The present ministers of state. Churchill.

2. To bind or firmly hold to an act; to compel; to constrain; to bind to any act of duty or courtesy by a formal pledge. That they may not incline or be obligated to any vile or lowly occupations. Landor.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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