oblige
verb/əˈblaɪdʒ/
/əˈblaɪdʒ/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they oblige | /əˈblaɪdʒ/ /əˈblaɪdʒ/ |
| he / she / it obliges | /əˈblaɪdʒɪz/ /əˈblaɪdʒɪz/ |
| past simple obliged | /əˈblaɪdʒd/ /əˈblaɪdʒd/ |
| past participle obliged | /əˈblaɪdʒd/ /əˈblaɪdʒd/ |
| -ing form obliging | /əˈblaɪdʒɪŋ/ /əˈblaɪdʒɪŋ/ |
- [transitive, usually passive] oblige somebody to do something to force somebody to do something, by law, because it is a duty, etc.
- Parents are obliged by law to send their children to school.
- I felt obliged to ask them to dinner.
- He suffered a serious injury that obliged him to give up work.
- Libel plaintiffs are virtually obliged to go into the witness box.
Extra Examples- Employees should not feel obliged to work extra hours.
- In the UK, you are not obliged to carry any form of identification.
- Ministers are obliged to declare their personal interests.
- She was annoyed that she had felt obliged to explain.
- Suppliers aren't legally obliged to provide a warranty.
- The landlord is obliged to give tenants 24 hours' notice of a visit.
- We felt obliged to sit with them.
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- [intransitive, transitive] to help somebody by doing what they ask or what you know they want
- Call me if you need any help—I'd be happy to oblige.
- oblige somebody (with something) Would you oblige me with some information?
- oblige somebody (by doing something) Oblige me by keeping your suspicions to yourself.
- The fans were looking for another goal and Kane duly obliged.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- duly
- kindly
- gladly
- …
- be glad to
- be happy to
- be pleased to
- …
- by
- with
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘bind by oath’): from Old French obliger, from Latin obligare, from ob- ‘towards’ + ligare ‘to bind’.
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oblige