obligates

verb

present tense third-person singular of obligate
as in compels
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 obligates The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 obligates Washington to measure and reduce regulatory burdens. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 Zeus’s Law obligates Telemachus and Odysseus’s wife Penelope to host the suitors who hope to marry her in Odysseus’s absence. — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026 The Montreux Convention obligates Turkey to allow commercial ships freedom of passage, but allows the country to charge for some specific things, including sanitary, pilotage, towage and lighthouse services. — Joanne Stocker, CBS News, 1 July 2026 The automotive groups accused Volkswagen of violating a standard dealer agreement, which obligates the company to sell its products through authorized dealerships. — Chase Jordan may 19, Charlotte Observer, 19 May 2026 Iran is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that obligates it not to enrich uranium for military purposes. — Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026 Europe’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) obligates foreign streaming services to invest a portion of their revenue into local productions, but leaves the modalities of this obligation to each individual country. — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026 The registry obligates legitimate telemarketers to stop calling numbers listed on it. — Dante Motley, Austin American Statesman, 13 Mar. 2026 In prior administrations, including during my time in the Obama administration, such leverage ran into statutory guardrails under the Taiwan Relations Act, which obligates the United States to provide Taiwan defensive capabilities. — Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligates
  1. compels
  2. coerces
  3. obliges
  4. forces
Verb
  • My banter with Cormac focuses on the institute, what compels him to be here.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The deal compels Facebook and Instagram to adopt new child-safety rules, including daily time caps, school-hour notification bans, stronger age checks and expanded parental controls aimed at harmful content.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of coerces
Verb
  • The following day, the state added him to its official register of terrorists and extremists, a designation that obliges Russian banks to freeze his assets.
    — Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Zeus obliges, striking their ship with a thunderbolt that destroys it and kills every member of Odysseus’ crew except the king himself.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 20 July 2026
Definition of obliges
Verb
  • Handwriting is slower than typing, which forces people to summarize and rephrase a teacher or coach’s point in their own words.
    — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The case forces a prime minister to resign Fenech was involved in a consortium that won a controversial contract with the Maltese government to build a power station.
    — Kevin Schembri Orland, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of forces

Browse Nearby Words

obligated
obligates
obligating
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Obligates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligates. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of hobnob

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All