Synonyms of obliging

obliging 1 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈblī-jiŋ 

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

• friendly
• accommodative
• accommodating
• indulgent
• helpful
• solicitous
• considerate
• amenable
• thoughtful
• gracious
• agreeable
• lenient
• complaisant
• permissive
• overindulgent

obliging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of oblige

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

• accommodating
• appeasing
• assisting
• delighting
• favoring
• pleasing
• indulging
• satisfying
• helping
• humoring
• aiding
• placating
• conciliating
• gratifying
• comforting
• coddling
• pacifying
• supporting
• relieving
• abetting
• mollifying
• mollycoddling
• pampering
• attending
• gladdening
• ministering (to)
• succoring
• caring (for)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bothering
• troubling
• disturbing
• weighing
• disobliging
• burdening
• failing
• encumbering
• disappointing
• saddling
• inconveniencing
• restraining
• deserting
• opposing
• constraining
• obstructing
• hindering
• impeding
• hampering
• incommoding
• letting down
• thwarting
• hobbling
• holding back
• discommoding
• frustrating
• sabotaging
• hamstringing

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

• coercing
• forcing
• compelling
• obligating
• pressuring
• driving
• constraining
• blackmailing
• dragooning
• impressing
• impelling
• intimidating
• pressing
• muscling
• making
• sandbagging
• bullying
• threatening
• hectoring
• blackjacking
• browbeating
• cowing
• badgering
• bulldozing
• terrorizing
• harassing
• menacing
• dragging
• shaming
• twisting one's arm
• hounding
• high-pressuring

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• permitting
• allowing
• letting
• moving
• satisfying
• inducing
• talking (into)
• arguing
• prevailing (on or upon)
• winning (over)
• convincing
• persuading

Synonym Chooser

How is the word obliging distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of obliging are amiable, complaisant, and good-natured. While all these words mean "having the desire or disposition to please," obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful.

our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room

When is it sensible to use amiable instead of obliging?

The words amiable and obliging can be used in similar contexts, but amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with.

an amiable teacher not easily annoyed

When might complaisant be a better fit than obliging?

While in some cases nearly identical to obliging, complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness.

was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair

In what contexts can good-natured take the place of obliging?

The meanings of good-natured and obliging largely overlap; however, good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon.

a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of 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