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man·da·to·ry | \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē 
\
\Definition of mandatory
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : required by a law or rule : obligatory the mandatory retirement age
2 : of, by, relating to, or holding a League of Nations mandate
mandatory
noun plural mandatories
Definition of mandatory (Entry 2 of 2)
: one given a mandate especially : a nation holding a mandate from the League of Nations
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Other Words from mandatory
Adjective
mandatorily \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ə-lē \ adverb
\ adverbSynonyms & Antonyms for mandatory
Synonyms: Adjective
- compulsory,
- forced,
- imperative,
- incumbent,
- involuntary,
- necessary,
- nonelective,
- obligatory,
- peremptory,
- required
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of mandatory in a Sentence
Adjective 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
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Travel to the islands has plummeted due to fear of infection and the 14-day mandatory quarantine rule.
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Fox News, "NYC tourist arrested in Hawaii after posting Instagram beach pics instead of quarantining," 17 May 2020 Seventy-nine percent supported mandatory temperature checks.
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Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, "What Asia can teach Ohio about reopening schools amid coronavirus," 17 May 2020 Hundreds of people wearing bikinis, swim trunks, sunglasses and for the first time, mandatory face coverings swarmed the area Saturday morning.
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azcentral, "Arizona reopening: Everyday movement no longer limited as state moves into weekend," 16 May 2020 Those who test negative will be spared a mandatory two-week period of isolation.
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Zainab Fattah, Bloomberg.com, "Dubai Airports Chief Sees ‘Hockey Stick’ Recovery After Vaccine," 15 May 2020 Sills will conduct a mandatory training program for club infection control officers on Monday night.
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CBS News, "NFL teams can reopen facilities Tuesday if state and local policies allow, commissioner says," 15 May 2020 Several private companies and residential colonies, too, have made the app mandatory for their staff and visitors.
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Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, "The Indian government’s tech initiatives keep failing privacy benchmarks," 13 May 2020 At times, the bureau has insisted that inmates must serve half their sentence before being eligible for release - even pulling back some people who had been told they would be let go and put in mandatory, prerelease quarantine.
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Anchorage Daily News, "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort released from prison to home confinement amid coronavirus fears," 13 May 2020 The new guidelines include mandatory face coverings and temperature checks upon entering airports, rules already implemented by other airlines.
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NBC News, "Fact check: Trump claims U.S. has among lowest coronavirus death rates," 12 May 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Black Sheep, an upscale restaurant group in Hong Kong, has made temperature checks and surveys about medical history mandatory at its 23 restaurants.
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Su-hyun Lee, BostonGlobe.com, "Across the globe, cities slowly emerging from quarantine face ‘new normal’," 2 May 2020 Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have all made face coverings in public mandatory.
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Jacqueline Howard, CNN, "Should you wear a mask? US health officials re-examine guidance amid coronavirus crisis," 31 Mar. 2020 Now, the push to make paid sick leave mandatory has become a focal point of the coronavirus pandemic response on Capitol Hill, Dustin Gardiner reports.
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Taylor Kate Brown, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: ‘Drive-through’ coronavirus tests start — but more needed across state," 12 Mar. 2020 Making personal finance instruction mandatory helps to reach students at all socioeconomic levels, advocates say.
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Ann Carrns, New York Times, "More States Require Students to Learn About Money Matters," 7 Feb. 2020 With New Delhi weighing a law that would make local storage mandatory, mining tycoon Gautam Adani wants to invest $10 billion in server farms in just one state.
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Washington Post, "This Less-Known Singapore Property Play Pays 51%," 19 Sep. 2019 One that avoids making certain information mandatory may be easy to speak, but leaves the listener to fill in the gaps.
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The Economist, "Which is the best language?," 19 Sep. 2019 This system took millions of dollars to develop and is often pointed to as a working example of upload filters by rights holders and lawmakers who wish to make such technology mandatory for every website which hosts user content online.
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Ulrich Kaiser, Ars Technica, "Google: Sorry professor, old Beethoven recordings on YouTube are copyrighted," 3 Sep. 2018 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.
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Kevin Mccoy, USA TODAY, "Citi to boost pay for women and minorities, closing gaps in the U.S., UK, and Germany," 15 Jan. 2018
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for mandatory
mandatory
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of mandatory
: required by a law or rule
See the full definition for mandatory in the English Language Learners Dictionary
mandatory
adjectiveman·da·tory | \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \
\Kids Definition of mandatory
: required by law or by a command
Student attendance is mandatory.
mandatory
adjectiveman·da·to·ry | \ ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē \
\Legal Definition of mandatory
: containing or constituting a command : being obligatory
Other Words from mandatory
mandatorily \ -ˌtȯr-i-lē \ adverb
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Time Traveler for mandatory
The first known use of mandatory was in the 15th century
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