mandatory

adjective man·da·to·ry \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of mandatory

1 : required by a law or rule : obligatory

the mandatory retirement age

2 : of, by, relating to, or holding a League of Nations mandate

—

mandatorily

play \-ˌtȯr-ə-lē\ adverb

See mandatory defined for English-language learners

See mandatory defined for kids

Examples of mandatory in a Sentence

Parents object to the mandatory nature of the shots—and the fact that their child's access to education hinges on compliance with the immunization regulations. —Alice Park, Time, 2 June 2008
In a move some are calling a "backdoor draft," the Pentagon has announced it will issue mandatory recalls to more than 5,600 Army troops for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. —Nathaniel Frank, Washington Post, 12 July 2004
At the same time, the 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which ended mandatory balanced coverage of politics, gave birth to talk radio, and the television universe splintered between the old networks and the new culture of cable gladiators in which opinion was more entertaining than information and cheaper to produce as well. —Nancy Gibbs, Time, 27 Sept. 2004
the tests are mandatory for all students wishing to graduate

Recent Examples of mandatory from the Web

While team golf can easily be viewed as an individual game, Nebout says creating the team concept is mandatory.

— ted dunnam, Houston Chronicle, "Golf: Clear Springs in record-shattering form," 7 Apr. 2018
For over a decade, a Stormfront account was virtually mandatory for members of the white supremacist community to network and organize.

— adam k. raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "One of the Original White-Supremacist Websites, Stormfront, Is Running Out of Money," 5 Apr. 2018
In an interview Wednesday with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Gottlieb said that because current physician education on opioids is not mandatory, too many doctors continue to treat patients based on outdated training.

— sandee lamotte, CNN, "FDA head calls for mandatory education, internet policing to fight opioid crisis," 4 Apr. 2018
But because the service isn't mandatory — and upgrades are costly — agencies have been slow to adopt it.

— maria polletta, azcentral, "Text-to-911 launches in metro Phoenix: 'This will allow me to reach out for services'," 2 Apr. 2018
Reading books and talking about current events was mandatory.

— erik lacitis, The Seattle Times, "‘They killed Martin’: MLK’s assassination is seared into Seattle memories," 31 Mar. 2018
Now the cleaning of many buildings is mandatory, and the city is more or less as pristine as Baron Haussman envisaged it in the Second Empire and Troisieme Republique.

— hamish bowles, Vogue, "The Doge’s Palace in Venice Welcomes Rare Sculptures of Adam and Eve," 30 Mar. 2018
However, the decision by one airline’s no-fly list is not mandatory on other carriers.

— janine puhak, Fox News, "62-year-old man accused of molesting Vistara flight attendant," 28 Mar. 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that school will soon be mandatory for children aged three years and up, instead of the current age of six.

— elizabeth schumacher, USA TODAY, "This country is making school for 3-year-olds mandatory," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mandatory.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Something mandatory is the result of a mandate or order, which usually comes in the form of a law, rule, or regulation. Today there seem to be a lot of these mandates, so mandatory seat belts, mandatory inspections for industries, and mandatory prison sentences for violent crimes are regularly in the news. But mandatory retirement at age 65, which used to be common, is now illegal in most cases.

Origin and Etymology of mandatory

see ¹mandate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

mandatory Synonyms

mandatory

noun man·da·to·ry \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

Definition of mandatory

plural mandatories

: one given a mandate; especially : a nation holding a mandate from the League of Nations

Recent Examples of mandatory from the Web

Separately, an Iceland law that took effect Jan. 1 makes equal pay for equal work mandatory in the northern European nation, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or nationality.

— kevin mccoy, USA TODAY, "Citi to boost pay for women and minorities, closing gaps in the U.S., UK, and Germany," 15 Jan. 2018
Buying such insurance is quasi-mandatory, since banks won’t issue mortgages unless a property is covered.

— emanuel ubert, Washington Post, "The strange story of how Florida’s lawmakers subsidized hurricane insurance," 13 Sep. 2017
In August, Medicare officials proposed canceling mandatory bundled payments for certain surgeries and scaling back the program for knee and hip replacements.

— chad terhune, Kaiser Health News, "Why One California County Went Surgery Shopping," 1 Sep. 2017
Tests to check that older vehicles in Washington’s most-populous areas comply with emission regulations: Mandatory.

— jessica lee, The Seattle Times, "With newer, cleaner cars on the road, is Washington’s vehicle emission test still necessary?," 31 July 2017
But some mandatories come with parole In some cases, a minimum sentence will still be imposed, but the convict would be newly eligible for parole.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Here's how Louisiana sentencing laws are changing under criminal justice reform," 26 June 2017
Like Obamacare, which essentially makes health care mandatory for everyone, insurance coverage is compulsory in Germany.

— patrick may, The Mercury News, "How countries around the world do single-payer health care," 2 June 2017
But some mandatories come with parole In some cases, a minimum sentence will still be imposed, but the convict would be newly eligible for parole.

— julia o'donoghue, NOLA.com, "Here's how Louisiana sentencing laws are changing under criminal justice reform," 26 June 2017
Against Mandatory Minimums counts 22 states that have cut sentencing guidelines for drug offenders.

— jon schuppe, NBC News, "Republican States Make the Case Against Trump’s Drug Policy," 19 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of mandatory

see ¹mandate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1661

See Words from the same year

MANDATORY Defined for English Language Learners

mandatory

adjective

Definition of mandatory for English Language Learners

: required by a law or rule

MANDATORY Defined for Kids

mandatory

adjective man·da·tory \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \

Definition of mandatory for Students

: required by law or by a command

Student attendance is mandatory.

Word Root of mandatory

The Latin word mandāre, meaning “to commit” or “to order,” gives us the root mand. Words from the Latin mandāre have something to do with committing or ordering. When a task is mandatory, someone has ordered that it must be done. To command is to order someone to do something. A mandate is an order from an authority to follow specific instructions.