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Obligate

//ˈɒb.lɪˌɡeɪt// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Requiring a (specified) way of life, habitat, etc.

    "[A]nalysis of the chemical composition of their bones reveals that they were obligate carnivores."

  2. 2
    Indispensable; essential; necessary; obligatory; mandatory; unavoidably invoked.

    "In addition to being the obligate food source for monarch caterpillars, milkweeds also provide abundant nectar for the adult butterflies."

  3. 3
    Bound by oath, law or duty. obsolete

    "The Law sayith, Mack a mendis for thy synne. The Father of Heaven is wraith wyth thee. Quhair is thy rychteousnes, goodnes, and satisfactioun ? Thou art bound and obligat unto me, [to] the devill, and [to] hell."

Adjective
  1. 1
    restricted to a particular condition of life wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    An obligate organism.
Verb
  1. 1
    To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie. transitive

    "That progress has taken over ten years and £20 million to bring to fruition. But, as Mands explains, the journey has been one that HSG has been almost obligated to undertake. "First and foremost, this is an environmental project," she says."

  2. 2
    bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted wordnet
  3. 3
    To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige. Canada, Scotland, US, transitive
  4. 4
    commit in order to fulfill an obligation wordnet
  5. 5
    To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation. Canada, Scotland, US, transitive
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    force somebody to do something wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin obligātus, perfect passive participle of obligō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of oblige, taken through French.

Etymology 2

Partly inherited from Middle English obligat(e) (“bound (by any obligation), obliged”), partly directly borrowed from Latin obligātus, see Etymology 1, -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

Etymology 3

Partly inherited from Middle English obligat(e) (“bound (by any obligation), obliged”), partly directly borrowed from Latin obligātus, see Etymology 1, -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

See also for "obligate"

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