1
as in mandatory
forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law
in this state, school attendance is obligatory until the age of 16
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cliche
used or heard so often as to be dull
the obligatory cliff-hanger endings for season finales of TV shows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obligatory
Beyond the obligatory appearances at awards ceremonies, he was rarely seen on the social circuit and made no secret of his disdain for the business side of show business.
—
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025
As the birthplace of shio (salt) ramen, a bowl here is obligatory.
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
When it’s done poorly, onboarding comes across as an obligatory chore, a series of bureaucratic hoops to jump through.
—Alain Hunkins, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
And, outside of the duo’s mother-daughter moments, the chef also shared a picture of her cat and a photo of herself dessert-shopping — plus an obligatory food pic, of course.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obligatory
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025
As the birthplace of shio (salt) ramen, a bowl here is obligatory.
—Christina Liao, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025
When it’s done poorly, onboarding comes across as an obligatory chore, a series of bureaucratic hoops to jump through.
—Alain Hunkins, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
And, outside of the duo’s mother-daughter moments, the chef also shared a picture of her cat and a photo of herself dessert-shopping — plus an obligatory food pic, of course.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obligatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligatory
Adjective
-
The mandatory minimum sentence for the three men, if convicted, is life in prison.—
Mara H. Gottfried,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Accurate and timely filing with the IRS remains mandatory.—
Tim Pratte,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
South Koreans aged 18-30 face some of the worst relative poverty rates among OECD countries and the perception among young men is that 18-month compulsory national service puts them at a marked disadvantage to their female peers, who are exempt.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Putin on Monday ordered a regular biannual call-up intended to draft 160,000 conscripts for a one-year tour of compulsory military service.—
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
At the time, Latinos were often cast in stereotyped roles with heavy accents and largely denied the opportunity to direct features.—
Maximilíano Durón,
ARTnews.com,
17 Mar. 2025
-
Tragedies can be examined by those outside of its sphere of destruction, but the groundswell of feeling from Mexican viewers and critics is that there was little or no care taken to understand the cultural grief beyond stereotyped spectacle.—
Lucy Ford,
TIME,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Most retirees must start taking required minimum distributions by age 73.—
Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,
CNBC,
20 Mar. 2025
-
No required minimum distributions Unlike traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, and all other types of retirement accounts, there are no required minimum distributions (RMDs) on Roth accounts.—
Kristin McKenna,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Here is a puzzle that should bring back memories for many solvers: settling down into a spacious middle seat, groping for seatbelts, suffering through the same tired safety notices.—
Sam Corbin,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2025
-
In their best offensive performance of the season against an admittedly tired and overmatched opponent, the Warriors had season highs in points and assists (42) and committed only 13 turnovers.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Listen to this article In the Aurora mayoral race, incumbent Richard Irvin and challenger John Laesch have both received notable endorsements ahead of the April 1 consolidated election.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Democratic primary challenges of incumbent governors are not unheard of in Massachusetts.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Several key figures - see Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Kyle Walker - are now into the twilights of their respective careers and so Guardiola’s team have been unable to play its usual style of high-energy, high-intensity soccer.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
-
Complete these steps to grab a bonus for college basketball or make a larger bet than usual with a safety net.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
However, this is based on an animal study of female rats, so trials in humans are necessary to know for sure.6 3.—
Megan Nunn,
Verywell Health,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Now that the pandemic is over, the grants and cooperative agreements are no longer necessary as their limited purpose has run out.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obligatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligatory. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share