obliging

adjective

oblig·​ing ə-ˈblī-jiŋ 

: willing to do favors : helpful

obligingly adverb

obligingness noun

Synonyms

• accommodating
• accommodative
• friendly
• indulgent

Choose the Right Synonym for obliging

amiable, good-natured, obliging, complaisant mean having the desire or disposition to please.

amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with.

an amiable teacher not easily annoyed

good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon.

a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in

obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful.

our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room

complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness.

was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair

Examples of obliging in a Sentence

An obliging passerby helped her with her packages.

an obliging concierge used her pull to get us reservations at the town's hottest restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web

The university's student newspaper, The Villanovan, reported that the actor was handing out water and snacks (and obliging selfie requests) on that campus as well. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024

But on this day’s errand, in the New Pioneer produce aisle, Greenwell could be mistaken for someone a little more quotidian: an obliging, slightly flustered midwestern husband. —Sarah Thankam Mathews, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024

Driver and Adelaide Clemens (as Essie) in Hold On to Me Darling Photo: Julieta Cervantes Buzzing around McCrane’s many affairs, both personal and professional, is his pathologically obliging and ever-present assistant, Jimmy. —Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2024

This is a consequence of complaints about the subservient and obliging female voices of Sky and, earlier, of Siri and Alexa. —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of oblige

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

obliging

adjective

oblig·​ing

ə-ˈblī-jiŋ

: willing to do favors

obligingly adverb