Obliged

How to spell obliged

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce obliged

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does obliged mean?

1. adjectiveBound or required to do something by duty, law, or circumstance.
2. adjectiveIndebted or thankful to someone for a kindness or favour.

Obliged in a sentence

• She felt obliged to attend the ceremony despite the long drive.

• The client would be most obliged if the report arrived by Friday.

• Tenants are legally obliged to give a month of notice before leaving.

• She was deeply obliged to the neighbour who watched her children.

Where does obliged come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb obligare, which meant 'to bind to' or 'to bind by oath', formed from the prefix ob-, here carrying the sense of 'towards', and the verb ligare, meaning literally 'to tie' or 'to bind'. The image at its heart is a physical one: a person tied or bound to a duty, just as a rope binds an object. English took the word through Old French obligier during the 1300s, when it was first used in legal and moral senses of being bound to fulfil a promise or a debt. From that grew the gentler everyday meaning of feeling grateful, since someone who has done you a kindness has, in a sense, bound you to them. The same Latin ligare lies behind the spelling of relatives like 'ligament', the tissue that binds bone to bone, and 'league', and noticing that shared 'lig' element is a useful way to remember that obliged is spelled with a g, not a j.

How the word is built

• ob- (to, towards)
• lig (from ligare: to bind)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)