obligated 1 of 2

as in obliged
being under obligation for a favor or gift we have been their guests so many times that we feel obligated to return their hospitality

Synonyms & Similar Words

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obligated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of obligate

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obligated
Adjective
The spokesperson did not respond to specific questions including what the legal basis would be for rescinding obligated funding. Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 8 Aug. 2025
Verb
The federal government is obligated by treaty to fund services such as healthcare and education to tribal nations in exchange for the government taking tribal lands in the 1800s. Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 3 Oct. 2025 In this case, October benefits are obligated in September. Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 One is filing a complaint with the DOT, which it is obligated to investigate (at least, for now). Christopher Elliott, USA Today, 29 Sep. 2025 Testimonials from former teammates tend to carry less weight with Hall of Fame selectors than testimonials from rivals, based on the thinking that ex-teammates feel obligated to endorse their friends. Mike Sando, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025 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, 25 Sep. 2025 However, in its news release, NASA said it is no longer obligated to a specific number of resupply missions. Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025 And you’re obligated at a certain point to wonder if things might be last things. Jane Ciabattari september 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025 Under law, the act is punishable by up to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to 50 million won ($35,860), and police are obligated to investigate any case reported. Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligated
Verb
  • What compelled you to want to be more cognizant of styling?
    Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Kobach asked Watson to issue a court order that would have compelled Kelly and Howard to sign off on the data transfer as part of their official duties.
    Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Studies in North Carolina, Virginia, and New York have found that nonprofit hospitals commonly garnish wages from indebted patients, with some studies finding those patients tend to work in low-wage occupations.
    Rae Ellen Bichell, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Starring Lee Jung-jae, the series follows a group of indebted individuals who are lured into a macabre number of challenges that promise riches for the winner.
    Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Leading by 3 with just over a minute left, Canales forced the Dolphins to use their first two timeouts with a pair of Rico Dowdle runs.
    Joseph Person, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Without Karen around, the women are forced to contend with the fallout from the reunion — namely, the tenuous terms that many of the women left with Karen on and the unresolved confrontation between the bulk of the cast and newcomer Stacey Rusch.
    Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The clean freaks in your life will be eternally grateful.
    Kristi Kellogg, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Selena Gomez is in her grateful-for-Taylor Swift era.
    Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Springsteen obliged, with a statement that was at once concise and powerful.
    Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2025
  • According to him, Dicaprio ended the long night by asking him for a drink, and Tunstall obliged with Hibiki Suntory Whisky.
    Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Yet there’s another genre to which Hill was and continued to be equally beholden, and that’s the Hollywood musical.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Now, under intense pressure from City Hall, these 11 beholden board members want to throw a school system that has endured more than its share of chaos back into the financial maelstrom.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The star witness was a mental patient who, in a new interview with The Tennessean, says his testimony was coerced.
    Keith Sharon, Nashville Tennessean, 7 Oct. 2025
  • The judge cited testimony from another former girlfriend, Jane, who said Combs later assaulted her and coerced her into oral sex with an escort.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Obligated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligated. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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