Obligated

How to spell obligated

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce obligated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does obligated mean?

1. adjectiveBound by a legal, moral, or social duty to do something.
2. verbPast tense of obligate: to bind someone legally or morally to a course of action.

Obligated in a sentence

• adjective

  The tenant felt obligated to repair the damage before moving out.

• verb

  The agreement obligated both parties to share the maintenance costs.

• adjective

  Signing the contract left the firm legally obligated to deliver on time.

• verb

  His promise obligated him to attend every meeting that quarter.

Where does obligated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb obligare, which meant literally 'to bind toward' or 'to tie up', formed from the prefix ob- meaning 'toward' and the root ligare meaning 'to bind'. In Roman usage the sense moved from physical binding to the binding of a promise or duty, so that a person who was obligatus was tied by an obligation. English took the verb 'obligate' from this Latin past participle obligatus during the 1500s, while the closely related and more common 'oblige' came in earlier through Old French. The same ligare root that means 'to bind' still shows up in everyday words such as 'ligament' (the tissue that binds bones) and 'ligature'. Remembering that lig means 'to bind' explains the single l and the g spelling, since the word is built on that bind-root rather than anything doubled.

How the word is built

• ob- (toward)
• lig (to bind)
• -ate (verb)
• -ed (past/participle)