obligate
/'ɔbligeit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To bind legally or morally; to compel or require someone to do something: To place someone under a legal, moral, or social duty to perform a specific action.
- To commit (funds, resources) to a particular purpose: To set aside or designate something, especially money, for a specific use or obligation.
Adjective:
- Essential or restricted to a particular mode of life or function: Used primarily in biology to describe an organism that is strictly dependent on a specific environmental condition or nutritional mode.
Examples of Usage
Verb:
- The terms of the agreement obligate the company to provide ongoing support.
- Parents are obligated to care for their children.
- The grant money is obligated for research purposes and cannot be used for travel.
Adjective:
- An obligate parasite cannot complete its life cycle without a host.
- Tuberculosis is caused by an obligate aerobe, a bacterium that requires oxygen to grow.
Advanced Usage
- "to feel obligated": To feel a strong sense of moral or social duty to do something.
- I feel obligated to help because they are family.
- "legally obligated": Required to do something by law or contract.
- Landlords are legally obligated to ensure the property is safe.
Variants and Related Words
- Obligation (n): A duty or commitment.
- He has a legal obligation to repay the debt.
- Obligatory (adj): Required by a rule, law, or custom; mandatory.
- Attendance at the safety briefing is obligatory.
- Obligated (adj): The past participle form, commonly used as an adjective meaning being bound or compelled.
- She felt obligated to attend.
Synonyms
- Compel: To force or oblige someone to do something.
- Bind: To impose a legal or moral constraint.
- Require: To need for a particular purpose; to make necessary.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Obligate" itself is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. The related noun "obligation" is used in phrases.) - To be under an obligation: To have a duty to do something. - We are under an obligation to report any safety issues. - To meet/fulfill an obligation: To do what is required by a duty. - The company failed to meet its financial obligations.
Related Idioms
- A sense of obligation: A feeling that one must do something because it is one's duty.
- He acted out of a sense of obligation, not genuine desire.
Adjective
- restricted to a particular condition of life
- an obligate anaerobe can survive only in the absence of oxygen
Verb
- bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted
- He's held by a contract
- I'll hold you by your promise
- commit in order to fulfill an obligation
- obligate money
- force somebody to do something
- We compel all students to fill out this form