as in friendly
willing to do a favor
an obliging concierge used her pull to get us reservations at the town's hottest restaurant
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in accommodating
to do a service or favor for
I would appreciate it greatly if you could oblige me by bringing a dessert to the party
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in coercing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
I know you're in a hurry, but you can't oblige me to drive any faster than the speed limit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of obliging
Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The obliging royalty would lift their hems and give the crowd a glimpse of their sneakers and cowboy boots.
—Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2025
Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obliging
Adjective
To be sure, China may never become the kind of country many Western optimists imagined in the early post–Cold War decades: a gradually more liberal and obliging member of the U.S.-led international order.
—Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The obliging royalty would lift their hems and give the crowd a glimpse of their sneakers and cowboy boots.
—Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
Vance and his family reportedly stayed in a lavish Georgian manor owned by a light-bulb magnate, obliging me to ask whose bright idea that was.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obliging
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obliging
Adjective
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In response, Delaware last March passed a law to make the state more alluring, to which Texas quickly counter-punched with an even friendlier law.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The other side of this has been the money in the industry’s pivot first to cheaper talk shows, which don’t innovate enough to merit much critique, and now to a second pivot to turn those interview shows into video series, which makes podcasts more friendly on TikTok and Instagram and YouTube.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Her mom is on her side, but some aunts are calling her a bridezilla for not accommodating family.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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Hanai’s skeptical but accommodating wife, Sachiko (Shinobu Terajima), agrees to essentially adopt Kikuo and help train him.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The lawsuit accused the company of coercing customers into signing agreements that allowed the company to act as the exclusive real estate listing agent for an undisclosed period of time.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Nov. 2025
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In one recent case, a 22-year-old man used Discord to prey on victims as young as 12 years old, coercing them into creating explicit content.—
Alex Vance,
Parents,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nevertheless, Ed still idolized Augusta and would grow to become obsessed with appeasing her, according to Biography.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
PEOPLE,
5 Oct. 2025
-
So far, efforts at appeasing the MAGA outrage machine have only backfired.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bloomberg | Getty Images Private equity fund managers are bracing for a wave of consolidation as investors demand higher returns and stronger governance, forcing a shakeout in an overcrowded industry, several industry veterans said at a high-level finance summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025
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The reductions announced on Wednesday could cause even more disruption, forcing airlines to cancel or reschedule thousands of flights per day.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Fairley had previously taken an active role in advocating against the settlement’s roster limits, writing to Congress and assisting a number of Liberty athletes in filing objections.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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These innovations can be used for a variety of purposes, including assisting humans with tasks, conducting research, or performing dangerous or tedious jobs.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Even prior to Preservé’s arrival, the Motiva implants had begun fueling a shift in the way some surgeons perform breast augmentation, compelling them to more frequently place implants on top of the chest muscle instead of underneath it, as has been customary for decades.—
Jolene Edgar,
Allure,
15 Oct. 2025
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And yet, today, a few pieces of evidence are compelling us to reconsider this scenario.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With just 24 hours before a party, 31-year-old Maïlys Lecaillier from Pas-de-Calais transformed everyday items into a hilariously lifelike ostrich costume that’s now delighting TikTok.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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Gen Alpha’s latest viral catchphrase is baffling adults and delighting kids across the country.—
Kimberly Richardson,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obliging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obliging. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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