obligate
obligate Lexical Profile
obligate Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To bind or compel someone legally or morally to perform a specific action.
"Signing the lease agreement will obligate the tenants to pay rent on the first of every month."
American To commit or set aside funds, assets, or property as security or payment for a specific liability or purpose.
"The agency must obligate the remaining grant funds before the end of the fiscal year."
• adjective
Restricted to a single, specific mode of life, diet, or environmental condition in order to survive (used in biology).
"Cats are obligate carnivores whose physiology requires nutrients found only in animal flesh."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'obligate' and 'oblige' share the same root and overlap when meaning to bind legally or morally, 'oblige' is also used in polite expressions of gratitude ('much obliged') and to mean doing someone a favor, contexts where 'obligate' cannot be used.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin 'obligatus', the past participle of 'obligare' ('to bind up, bandage, or put under moral or legal obligation'), formed from 'ob-' ('to, toward') and 'ligare' ('to bind or tie').