OBLIGATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does obligation mean? 

• OBLIGATION (noun)
  The noun OBLIGATION has 5 senses:

1. the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force

2. the state of being obligated to do or pay something

3. a personal relation in which one is indebted for a service or favor

4. a written promise to repay a debt

5. a legal agreement specifying a payment or action and the penalty for failure to comply

  Familiarity information: OBLIGATION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OBLIGATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

duty; obligation; responsibility

Context example:

every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty

Hypernyms ("obligation" is a kind of...):

social control (control exerted (actively or passively) by group action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obligation"):

guardianship; keeping; safekeeping (the responsibility of a guardian or keeper)

demand; requirement (required activity)

prerequisite; requirement (something that is required in advance)

white man's burden (the supposed responsibility of the white race to provide care for their non-white subjects)

line of duty (all that is normally required in some area of responsibility)

legal duty (acts which the law requires be done or forborne)

incumbency (a duty that is incumbent upon you)

imperative (some duty that is essential and urgent)

filial duty (duty of a child to its parents)

civic duty; civic responsibility (the responsibilities of a citizen)

burden of proof (the duty of proving a disputed charge)

noblesse oblige (the obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically))

moral obligation (an obligation arising out of considerations of right and wrong)

job (the responsibility to do something)

Derivation:

obligate; oblige (force somebody to do something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of being obligated to do or pay something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

he is under an obligation to finish the job

Hypernyms ("obligation" is a kind of...):

state (the way something is with respect to its main attributes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obligation"):

financial obligation; indebtedness; liability (an obligation to pay money to another party)

Derivation:

obligate (bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted)

obligate (commit in order to fulfill an obligation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A personal relation in which one is indebted for a service or favor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

indebtedness; obligation

Hypernyms ("obligation" is a kind of...):

personal relation; personal relationship (a relation between persons)

Derivation:

oblige (provide a service or favor for someone)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A written promise to repay a debt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

certificate of indebtedness; debt instrument; obligation

Hypernyms ("obligation" is a kind of...):

document (a written account of ownership or obligation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obligation"):

cash equivalent (a highly liquid debt instrument with maturities of less than three months)

CD; certificate of deposit (a debt instrument issued by a bank; usually pays interest)

note; note of hand; promissory note (a promise to pay a specified amount on demand or at a certain time)

floater (a debt instrument with a variable interest rate tied to some other interest rate (e.g. the rate paid by T-bills))

bond; bond certificate (a certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A legal agreement specifying a payment or action and the penalty for failure to comply

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("obligation" is a kind of...):

written agreement (a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "obligation"):

debt (an obligation to pay or do something)

Derivation:

obligate; oblige (bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted)

 Context examples 

I said I owed him more obligations than I could ever repay, and held him in a higher admiration than I could ever express.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I only want an easy mind, sir; not crushed by crowded obligations.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

If Mrs. Rushworth could imagine any interfering obligations, Julia was certainly able to quit London whenever she chose.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Immunity from an obligation or duty.

(Exemption, NCI Thesaurus)

A feeling of shame and sorrow based on the belief of having done something wrong or failing an obligation.

(Guilt, NCI Thesaurus)

You might want to withdraw from social obligations to enjoy a little solitude.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

In my position you can readily understand that it is unwise to place one’s self under obligations.’

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They each felt his sorrows, and their own obligations, and Marianne, by general consent, was to be the reward of all.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

I must now mention a circumstance which I would wish to forget myself, and which no obligation less than the present should induce me to unfold to any human being.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“I quite recognise that I am under obligations to you, Mr. Holmes,” said he, “but I must regard what you have just said as either a very bad joke or an insult.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)