obligate

verb

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ob·li·gate | \ ˈä-blə-ˌgāt

obligated; obligating

Definition of obligate

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to bind legally or morally : constrain You are obligated to repay the loan.

2 : to commit (something, such as funds) to meet an obligation funds obligated for new projects

obligate

adjective

ob·li·gate | \ ˈä-bli-gət

, -blə-ˌgāt \

Definition of obligate (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : restricted to one particularly characteristic mode of life an obligate parasite

2 : biologically essential for survival obligate mutualism

Other Words from obligate Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About obligate

Examples of obligate in a Sentence

Verb The contract obligates the firm to complete the work in six weeks. the problem is of your own making, so don't think that you can obligate me to help

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb In total, the Biden administration intends to obligate more than $713 million in foreign military financing for Ukraine and 15 other European countries, virtually all of whom have supported Ukraine's military from their own stockpiles. — Conor Finnegan, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2022 While the local government wanted to obligate all people entering the territory to be vaccinated, Paris initially deemed that French citizens could not be bound by such a rule. — New York Times, 12 Mar. 2022 Digital rights activists have blasted a decision by Russian authorities to obligate foreign tech firms to open local offices starting Jan. 1, fearing that those subsidiaries can be used to pressure companies into Internet censorship. — Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2021 And a point worth underscoring: Enabling a committee to probe whether impeachable crimes have been committed would not obligate the House of Representatives to follow through with formal impeachment proceedings. — Andrew C. Mccarthy, National Review, 13 Feb. 2022 That followed a 2009 decision that a Utah town’s display of a Ten Commandments monument didn’t obligate it to place in a public park a monument displaying the Seven Aphorisms of Summum, a religious group known for its practice of mummification. — Jess Bravin, WSJ, 18 Jan. 2022 The state, counties, and municipalities have until the end of 2024 to obligate the ARPA funds, which have to be spent by the end of 2026. — Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 20 Jan. 2022 States have until the end of 2024 to obligate their money and until the end of 2026 to spend it. — Mike Cason | Mcason@al.com, al, 27 Sep. 2021 That doesn't obligate you to make his vision a reality. — Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Biologists have observed, over long periods of time, that species that are obligate parthenogens frequently die out from disease, parasitism or changes in habitat. — Mercedes Burns, CNN, 27 Dec. 2021 Females of these species, which include some wasps, crustaceans and lizards, reproduce only through parthenogenesis and are called obligate parthenogens. — Mercedes Burns, CNN, 27 Dec. 2021 Morels exhibit a lavish, almost obligate response to fire, flourishing most in the springtime after a fire has cleared an area and augmented the soil with carbon. — Heather Arndt Anderson, Sunset Magazine, 13 Feb. 2020 Cats are obligate carnivores, so quality cat food should consist primarily of meat. — Lauren Corona, chicagotribune.com, 26 Feb. 2021 Indeed, the variety Dr Abe chose to work with, known as the Notojima strain, is, like the bdelloids, an obligate parthenogen. — The Economist, 23 Jan. 2021 And because cats are obligate carnivores, meat is the name of the game. — Lizz Schumer, Good Housekeeping, 2 June 2020 About 50 kinds of lizards reproduce exclusively by asexual means (obligate parthenogenesis), plus the one species of snake mentioned above. — Quanta Magazine, 18 June 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obligate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for obligate

Verb

borrowed from Latin obligātus, past participle of obligāre "to tie up, restrain by tying, place under a legal or moral constraint" — more at oblige

Adjective

borrowed from German obligat "necessary, unavoidable," borrowed from Latin obligātus "under an obligation," from past participle of obligāre "to tie up, restrain by tying, place under a legal or moral constraint" — more at oblige

Note: In biological sense apparently adapted from use of German obligat by the mycologist Heinrich Anton de Bary (1831-88) in Vergleichende Morphologie und Biologie der Pilze, Mycetozoen und Bacterien (Leipzig, 1884), p. 382 ff.

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Dictionary Entries Near obligate

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Last Updated

7 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Obligate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obligate. Accessed 20 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for obligate

obligate

verb

ob·li·gate | \ ˈä-blə-ˌgāt

obligated; obligating

Kids Definition of obligate

: to make (someone) do something by law or because it is right The contract obligates you to pay monthly.

obligate

adjective

ob·li·gate | \ ˈäb-li-gət

, -lə-ˌgāt

Medical Definition of obligate

1 : restricted to one particularly characteristic mode of life or way of functioning the infant is an obligate nose breather — Journal of the American Medical Association an obligate parasite

2 : biologically essential for survival obligate parasitism