as in to compel
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
the problem is of your own making, so don't think that you can obligate me to help
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Recent Examples of obligate
However, a driver is not legally obligated to submit to a field sobriety test, pre-arrest test or cheek swab at a DUI checkpoint, according to the Law Offices of Grech and Parker in Riverside.
—
Sarah Linn, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
That doesn't mean that if someone invites you over, you are now obligated to invite them.
—Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
The county believes it’s no longer obligated to support the agreement approved by several parties.
—Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 11 Sep. 2025
As the Costs of War project at Brown University noted in 2021, the United States spent and obligated $8 trillion in waging its post-9/11 wars.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obligate
Sarah Linn, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
That doesn't mean that if someone invites you over, you are now obligated to invite them.
—Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
The county believes it’s no longer obligated to support the agreement approved by several parties.
—Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 11 Sep. 2025
As the Costs of War project at Brown University noted in 2021, the United States spent and obligated $8 trillion in waging its post-9/11 wars.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obligate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligate
Verb
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Yet these productions are increasingly designed around an ethos of visual-over-depth that compels us to immediately document and post each scene.—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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One way lawsuits can generate this pressure is through the discovery process, which compels companies to turn over internal documents, and could shed insight into what executives knew about safety risks or marketing harms.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Investigators allege that Hernandez coerced at least five minors into participating in the production of child pornography on at least seven occasions, consistent with the seven charges.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
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Never use someone’s dream to coerce them into a relationship.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Kuomintang, or KMT, also known as the Nationalist Party of China, is the party formerly led by Chiang Kai-shek that ruled the entirety of the Republic of China before Mao Zedong’s communist military forced it to flee to Taiwan.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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The show also featured a number of first-time nominees and first-time winners like Tramell Tillman, Jeff Hiller, Hannah Einbinder, and Owen Cooper, all of whom were been forced to amend their moment in the spotlight to adhere to the joke.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Past performance, as investment professionals are obliged to warn, is no guide to the future.—
David Prosser,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Yes, the city knows its way around a good crabcake—something every visitor is obliged to try—but the scenery goes beyond the plate.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligate. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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