as in compelled
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
the problem is of your own making, so don't think that you can obligate me to help
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obligated
Jan Ellen Spiegel, Hartford Courant, 8 Aug. 2025
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026
The system, starting up Monday, will refund tariffs directly to the businesses that paid them, which are not obligated to share the proceeds with customers.
—Mae Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Hayes-Mota, of Santa Clara, said the pope is obligated to speak on behalf of the church and its mission.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
According to Emily, you are not obligated to entertain out-of-town guests who aren’t in those categories.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
According to Emily, you are not obligated to entertain out-of-town guests.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
No staff member is obligated to participate, nor are staff excused from normal duty for the purposes of their own participation.
—Megan De Mar, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Oman is a party to UNCLOS and is therefore obligated to allow uninterrupted transit through the strait.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
All of this should be unacceptable in a country that believes in the rule of law and that should be obligated to treat every person humanely.
—Erwin Chemerinsky, Twin Cities, 8 Apr. 2026
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
By 2021, Quinn was done engaging with Elliott on quarterly financial statements beyond what Neon was obligated to provide under the distribution agreement.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 21 Apr. 2026
The system, starting up Monday, will refund tariffs directly to the businesses that paid them, which are not obligated to share the proceeds with customers.
—Mae Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Hayes-Mota, of Santa Clara, said the pope is obligated to speak on behalf of the church and its mission.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
According to Emily, you are not obligated to entertain out-of-town guests who aren’t in those categories.
—Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
According to Emily, you are not obligated to entertain out-of-town guests.
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
No staff member is obligated to participate, nor are staff excused from normal duty for the purposes of their own participation.
—Megan De Mar, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2026
Oman is a party to UNCLOS and is therefore obligated to allow uninterrupted transit through the strait.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
All of this should be unacceptable in a country that believes in the rule of law and that should be obligated to treat every person humanely.
—Erwin Chemerinsky, Twin Cities, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligated
Verb
-
Shiver, who no longer works at Michigan, said she felt compelled to speak out so other young women are not caught in similar circumstances.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Given his Day 3 status, the Panthers won’t feel compelled to rush him into starter duty.—
Mike Kaye
April 22,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The founder of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted property developer, pleaded guilty to charges including misuse of funds, fundraising fraud and illegally taking public deposits, a court in China’s southern city of Shenzhen said.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Evergrande was the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer with more than $300 billion in liabilities when a Hong Kong court handed down a liquidation order in 2024.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
He was forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury, and with only four matches remaining, there is now a very real possibility that Salah has played his final game for Liverpool.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Even though the pushing and throwing motions forced the robots into excursions near the boundaries of their physical workspaces, and the pick-and-place maneuver demanded complex internal mathematical checks, all three machines were able to learn a functional policy via a single human demonstration.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, all California voters should be grateful that Swalwell’s accusers courageously went public in April, not August.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The players were grateful for the record-breaking experience, including the raucous environment in a stadium built for women’s soccer.—
PJ Green
April 17,
Kansas City Star,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The astronauts obliged, returning detailed observations of Orientale.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Seeking an opportunity to be a full-time starter, Thompson requested a trade from the organization the following offseason, and general manager Kelly McCrimmon obliged, sending him to Washington.—
Jesse Granger,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Anyone that wanted to reserve time in the July 19 final was beholden to a full-tourney pledge of as much as $30 million, although your mileage will vary based on any number of extrinsic variables.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
17 Apr. 2026
-
There is also concern about being beholden to just a handful of American tech CEOs.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Over the course of the last year, the Forest Service forced or coerced roughly a quarter of its approximately 30,000 employees to leave.—
Tracy Stone-Manning,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
-
My old company, Whitewater Films, hired me to write a sports comedy — Puckheads — about an aging minor league hockey enforcer who gets coerced into playing for a cartel in Mexico City.—
Nick Morton,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obligated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligated. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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