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
After the Acting City Attorney Christopher Creech explained that the city manager and the city attorney are obligated to share their opinion about a potential violation of code, Barbadillo suggested that both the city manager and the city attorney should face a performance evaluation. Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025 Amtrak, often regarded as an albatross around taxpayers’ necks, lost more—about $705 million—but serves more than 500 stops, including many that a private enterprise would never bother with and that a public one is obligated to serve. Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2025 Murray was already training in Denver with some of the younger Nuggets who were obligated to be in town. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025 Each state signed up to the ICC is obligated to arrest and surrender a fugitive found in their territory. Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025 The United States is obligated by its own laws to give military support to Taiwan, which split from China in 1949 during a civil war. Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2025 Pending university approval, EverWonder is obligated to provide Belichick the access to the raw footage after the filming concludes. Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 20 Oct. 2025 Singh has seven days to formally respond to the notice, but he’s not obligated to do so, the parents said. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 17 Oct. 2025 The Marcus Performing Arts Center's parking structure needs major repairs to stay open — and center executives say the City of Milwaukee is legally obligated to help pay for that work. Jr Radcliffe, jsonline.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligated
Verb
  • More military clashes occurred in 1503 and 1504, and these saw numerous chiefs captured, assigned to Spanish settlers, and compelled to labor in the construction of towns.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Some even felt compelled to try the handshake themselves.
    Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • For decades Suriname has been too small to draw global attention and too indebted to grow.
    Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The brand’s latest, which debuted at this year’s China International Motorcycle Trade Exhibition, sports a chunky, cyberpunk-indebted design and bold lighting package that wouldn’t look out of place zipping around a futuristic metropolis.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Follow what feels fun and freeing, not forced.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
  • In 2021, the state implemented several new and stricter penalties for hazing after 19-year-old Timothy Piazza, a New Jersey resident, died after being forced to drink copious amounts of alcohol while attending Penn State University.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Still, Gausman was grateful for the opportunity to perform in front of a raucous crowd at the Rogers Centre, and knows this fight is far from finished.
    Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
  • Justin's super grateful for his fans.
    Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Amazon has previously told Sourcing Journal that, at this juncture, it has not been legally obliged to serve as a joint employer for the workers the Teamsters have brought issues over.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Democratic State Senator Ben Allen, who sponsored the bill, and California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara initially pushed for insurers to be obliged to pay out 100 percent of an owner’s personal property coverage limit, but the bill was amended after pushback from the industry.
    Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But Netanyahu was beholden for his political future to the radical minority that supported it, and constantly catered to their whims.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2025
  • 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
Verb
  • This is the real danger for the NBA—players who get coerced into trying to rig games.
    Scott Soshnick, Sportico.com, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The retail giant agreed to the settlement to resolve an antitrust lawsuit filed by the FTC in 2023, in which federal officials alleged that Amazon coerced millions of consumers into enrolling in Prime subscriptions and then made those agreements extremely difficult to cancel.
    Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Obligated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligated. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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