Obligation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of obligation ; : a condition or feeling of being obligated felt an obligation to vote ; b : a debt of gratitude returned the favor as an obligation. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut obligation noun SaveWord ob·​li·​ga·​tion |\ˌä-blə-ˈgā-shən \ Definitionofobligation 1 :theactionofobligatingoneselftoacourseofaction(asbyapromiseorvow) 2a :something(suchasaformalcontract,apromise,orthedemandsofconscienceorcustom)thatobligatesonetoacourseofaction madeanobligationtopaytheirchildren'scollegeexpenses b :adebtsecurity(suchasamortgageorcorporatebond) c :acommitment(asbyagovernment)topayaparticularsumofmoney also :anamountowedundersuchanobligation Unabletomeetitsobligations,thecompanywentintobankruptcy. 3a :aconditionorfeelingofbeingobligated feltanobligationtovote b :adebtofgratitude returnedthefavorasanobligation 4 :somethingoneisboundtodo:duty,responsibility countriesinwhichmilitaryserviceisanobligationfulfilledtheirfamilialobligations Synonyms MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContainingobligation LearnMoreAboutobligation Synonymsforobligation Synonyms burden,charge,commitment,devoir,do[archaic],duty,imperative,incumbency,need,office,responsibility VisittheThesaurusforMore  ExamplesofobligationinaSentence Shebelievesthatallpeoplehaveamoralobligationtodefendhumanrights. Hearguesthatpeopleinacommunityhavecertainobligationstoeachother. Shefailedtofulfillherobligationsasaparent. RecentExamplesontheWeb Thereis,therefore,amoralobligationtoobeytheoriginalmeaningoftheConstitution. — J.JoelAlicea,NationalReview,3May2022 Thissortofcrossbrandingbuildsaudiencewhichisthecoreobligationofanewactcontinuingtoclimbtheladderofpopularity. — EricFuller,Forbes,1May2022 Whilethecitymayneedtodeveloptheparkinglotatsomepoint,thereisnoobligationtodoanythinguntilthecurrentleaseexpiresin2043. — JeffMcdonald,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,17Apr.2022 Anycopay,deductibleorcoinsuranceisthefinancialobligationofthepersonseekingcare,nottheinsurancecompany. — WSJ,14Apr.2022 OnWednesday,standingnearthesiteoftwomassgraves,Ukraine’sprosecutorgeneral,IrynaVenediktova,saidtherewasanobligationbothtouncoverthefactsandtodosoinatransparentwaytocombatRussiandisinformation. — NewYorkTimes,13Apr.2022 Thereisnoobligationfortheteam,player,oragenttomakethelistavailabletoanyoneelse,includingleagueheadquarters. — KevinPaulDupont,BostonGlobe.com,26Mar.2022 WiththemountingtragedyinUkraine,deprivinghimofthatopportunityisincreasinglyamoralobligation. — MartinFritzHuber,OutsideOnline,9Mar.2022 AccordingtoMecking,doingnothingshouldn’tbeyetanotherstress-inducingobligation. — WashingtonPost,17Dec.2021 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'obligation.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContainingobligation holydayofobligation notunderanyobligation senseofobligation undernolegalobligation undernoobligation withoutobligation holydayofobligation notunderanyobligation senseofobligation undernolegalobligation undernoobligation withoutobligation FirstKnownUseofobligation 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforobligation MiddleEnglishobligacioun,borrowedfromAnglo-Frenchobligacion,borrowedfromLatinobligātiōn-,obligātiō,fromobligāre"totieup,restrainbytying,placeunderalegalormoralconstraint"+-tiōn--tiō,suffixofverbalaction—moreatoblige LearnMoreAboutobligation Shareobligation PosttheDefinitionofobligationtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofobligationonTwitter TimeTravelerforobligation Thefirstknownuseofobligationwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearobligation obligate obligation obligational SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforobligation LastUpdated 9May2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Obligation.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obligation.Accessed16May.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforobligation obligation noun ob·​li·​ga·​tion |\ˌä-blə-ˈgā-shən \ KidsDefinitionofobligation 1 :somethingapersonmustdobecauseofthedemandsofapromiseorcontract Makesureyouknowyourrightsandobligationsbeforeyousign. 2 :somethingapersonfeelsheorshemustdo:duty Ican'tgobecauseofotherobligations. 3 :afeelingofbeingindebtedforanactofkindness Don'tfeelanyobligationtoreturnthefavor. obligation noun ob·​li·​ga·​tion |\ˌä-blə-ˈgā-shən \ Legal Definitionofobligation 1 :apromise,acknowledgment,oragreement(asacontract)thatbindsonetoaspecificperformance(aspayment) also :thebindingpowerofsuchanagreementorindication heldthattheamendmentdidnotunconstitutionallyimpairtheobligationsofcontracts—Davisv.AmericanFamilyMut.Ins.Co.,521N.W.2d366(1994) 2 :adebtsecurity(asacorporateorgovernmentbond) — collateralizeddebtobligation :asecuritybackedbyapoolofdiversifiedsecuritiesthatusuallydonotincludemortgages — collateralizedloanobligation :asecuritybackedbyapoolofcommercialloans — collateralizedmortgageobligation :abondcollateralizedbyapoolofmortgageobligationsorpass-throughsecuritiesandpaidaccordingtothematurityandamortizationscheduleofitsclassandnotdirectlyfromtheunderlyingobligations —calledalso CMO 3 :whatoneisobligatedtodo,satisfy,orfulfill:as a :acommitmenttopayaparticularamountofmoney doesnotcreateadebt,liability,orotherobligation,legalormoral—Statev.FloridaDev.Fin.Corp.,650So.2d14(1995) also :anamountowedinsuchacommitment b :adutyarisingfromlaw,contract,ormorality hadalegalobligationasanemployeracontractualobligation 4 inthecivillawofLouisiana :arelationshipthatbindsonepartytoaperformance(asapaymentortransfer)ornonperformanceforanotherparty—seealsocontract,offense,quasi-offense Note: Anobligationundercivillawmayarisebyoperationoflaw,naturally,orbycontractorotherdeclarationofwill.Theelementsofanobligationare:theparties,anobject,therelationshipbyvirtueofwhichonepartyisboundtoperformfortheother'sbenefit,and,inthecaseofconventionalobligations,acause. — conditionalobligation :anobligationthatisdependentonanuncertainevent — conventionalobligation :anobligationtakingtheformofacontract — heritableobligation :anobligationthatmaybeenforcedbythesuccessoroftheobligeeoragainstthesuccessoroftheobligor — jointobligation 1 :anobligationbindingdifferentobligorstoaperformanceforoneobligee 2 :anobligationbindingoneobligortoaperformancefordifferentobligees Note: Incivillaw,oneoftwoormoreobligorsinajointobligationisonlyliableforhisorherportionoftheperformance. — naturalobligation :anobligationarisingfrommoraldutythatisimpliedbutnotenforceablebythelaw — severalobligation 1 :anyoftheobligationsbindingdifferentobligorstoseparateperformancesforoneobligee 2 :anyoftheobligationsbindinganobligortoseparateperformancesfordifferentobligees — solidaryobligation :anobligationunderwhichanyoftwoormoreobligorscanbeheldliablefortheentireperformance(aspaymentofadebt) Note: Solidaryobligationissimilartojointandseveralliabilityincommonlaw. MorefromMerriam-Websteronobligation Nglish:TranslationofobligationforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofobligationforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutobligation WORDOFTHEDAY epithet SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary GreatWordsforScrabble WhichofthefollowingQ-without-Uwordsmeansthenumberfiveincardsordice? qigong kamotiq tranq cinq Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay WhataHoot! 15birdsounds,andthebirdswhomakethem GreatBigListofBeautiful&UselessWords Alongwiththeirdegreesofusefulness What'stheDifference? Thesewordsshouldn'tbeusedinterchangeably WordsForThingsYouDidn'tKnowHaveNames When'thingamajig'and'thingamabob'justwon'tdo AsktheEditors EndingaSentencewithaPreposition Anold-fashionedrulewecannolongerputupwith. 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