In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
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
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
1 June 2025
BACKFIRE
(verb) come back to the originator of an action with an undesired effect; “Your comments may backfire and cause you a lot of trouble”; “the political movie backlashed on the Democrats”
Coffee Trivia
