obligated

ob-li-gat-ed · adjective

imported

Definitions

adjective

  1. 1.

    Required by legal, moral, or other rule; bound by duty or commitment.

  2. 2.

    Made to feel that one owes something in return for a favor.

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    feel obligated — to sense a duty to do something
  • •
    legally obligated — bound by law to do something

Related words

Antonyms: exempt, free, released
See also: bound, obligation, obliged
Synonyms: bound, compelled, duty-bound, required

Etymology

Past participle of obligate, from Latin obligatus, past participle of obligare ("to bind, tie up"), from ob- ("to, toward") + ligare ("to bind").