obligatory

1 forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law in this state, school attendance is obligatory until the age of 16 Synonyms compulsory, forced, imperative, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective, mandatory, peremptory, requiredRelated Words all-important, essential, indispensable, needed, requisite; insistent, persistent, pressing, urgent; demanded, enforced; coerciveNear Antonyms chosen, discretionary; dispensable, unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted; inconsequential, insignificant, nonessential, unimportantAntonyms elective, optional, voluntary

2 used or heard so often as to be dull the obligatory cliff-hanger endings for season finales of TV shows Synonyms banal, cliché (also cliche), clichéd, cobwebby, commonplace, hack, hackney, hackneyed, moth-eaten, musty, stale, shopworn, stereotyped, threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, well-wornRelated Words twice-told; bromidic, platitudinal, platitudinous; canned, cardboard, conventional, cookie-cutter, derivative, imitative, ready-made, tried-and-true, unimaginative, uninspired, unoriginal; normal, ordinary, rote, routine, standard, stock, typical, usual; arid, barren, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monotonous, numbing, old, pedantic, pedestrian, ponderous, prosaic, stodgy, stuffy, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, undramatic, uninteresting, vapid, wearisome, weary, wearying; old-fashioned, old hatNear Antonyms animating, energizing, enlivening, exciting, galvanizing, invigorating, stimulating; absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting; atypical, extraordinary, strange, unaccustomed, uncommon, unfamiliar, unheard-of, unknown, unprecedented, unusual; pathbreaking, pioneering, trailblazingAntonyms fresh, new, novel, original, unclichéd, unhackneyed