obligation

noun

A social, legal, or moral requirement, duty, contract, or promise that compels someone to follow or avoid a particular course of action.

The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone.

A course of action imposed by society, law, or conscience by which someone is bound or restricted.

(law) A legal agreement stipulating a specified action or forbearance by a party to the agreement; the document containing such agreement.

(countable) Reason for being obliged to, that is, grateful for, something.

Roots

ligolig- · Latin · bind

Synonyms for obligation

dutyn indebtednessn responsibilityn liabilityn devoirn debtn onusn pledgen obligatoryadj accountabilityn

Synonyms & related words for obligation

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of obligation — including duty, indebtedness, responsibility, liability, devoir, debt. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to obligation

Explore words related to obligation — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include obligated, obligating, obligator, obligor, obligee, bounden, obliged, commitments. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for obligation

Common synonyms for obligation include duty, indebtedness, responsibility, liability, devoir, debt, onus, pledge — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does obligation come from?

The word obligation breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root lig-, from Latin ligo (“bind”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.