obliging

adjective

oblig·​ing ə-ˈblī-jiŋ 

: willing to do favors : helpful

obligingly adverb

obligingness noun

Synonyms

• accommodating
• accommodative
• friendly
• indulgent

Choose the Right Synonym for obliging

amiable, good-natured, obliging, complaisant mean having the desire or disposition to please.

amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with.

an amiable teacher not easily annoyed

good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon.

a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in

obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful.

our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room

complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness.

was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair

Examples of obliging in a Sentence

An obliging passerby helped her with her packages.

an obliging concierge used her pull to get us reservations at the town's hottest restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web

To be sure, China may never become the kind of country many Western optimists imagined in the early post–Cold War decades: a gradually more liberal and obliging member of the U.S.-led international order. —Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

The obliging royalty would lift their hems and give the crowd a glimpse of their sneakers and cowboy boots. —Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2025

It was perfectly weighted for an obliging Diaz, who gratefully tapped it in from just outside the six-yard box. —Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025

The court now has to decide whether they can be held liable before such an order is issued—obliging internet companies to carry out exhaustive policing of their users. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of oblige

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

obliging

adjective

oblig·​ing

ə-ˈblī-jiŋ

: willing to do favors

obligingly adverb