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
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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
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Recent Examples of obligatory
And of course, because this is a titanium Kickstarter multitool, there are also the obligatory slots for optional vials of glow-in-the-dark (and slightly radioactive) tritium.
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Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 30 Oct. 2024
For many straight men, their maiden journey to a strip club is an obligatory rite of passage, but for Baker, the incident was more fraught.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Dealers reinforce the advantage of leasing an EV by giving buyers their applicable tax credits at the point of sale, often bundling them to lower the obligatory drive-off costs.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
Achint Thakkar’s soundtrack scratches the itch of mainstream Hindi music (including the obligatory Arijit Singh vocal) as well as the emotional needs of the movie, with Raina lending his voice to two tracks.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obligatory 
Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 30 Oct. 2024
For many straight men, their maiden journey to a strip club is an obligatory rite of passage, but for Baker, the incident was more fraught.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Dealers reinforce the advantage of leasing an EV by giving buyers their applicable tax credits at the point of sale, often bundling them to lower the obligatory drive-off costs.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
Achint Thakkar’s soundtrack scratches the itch of mainstream Hindi music (including the obligatory Arijit Singh vocal) as well as the emotional needs of the movie, with Raina lending his voice to two tracks.
—Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for obligatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obligatory
Adjective
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The District 16 race margin is within the threshold for a mandatory recount, while the District 19 margin is just outside the threshold.Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 11 Nov. 2024
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Dismayed by tedious, mandatory and frequently counterproductive diversity, equity and inclusion seminars that treat white skin as almost inherently problematic?Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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There should be a compulsory living wage for sustainable farming roles and more work to reduce pesticide and fertiliser use.Christopher Marquis, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
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Taiwan has responded by moving to shore up its defense, including by marginally raising its military budget, extending compulsory service from four months to one year and developing new indigenous weapons platforms, such as attack submarines.David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Chicano artists also critically reexamined stereotyped figures, such as the pachuco and pachuca, and retold current and historic events through artworks that questioned hegemonic narratives.Mary Thomas, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019
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Covino is also tasked with the least comedic role and excels at imbuing his character with enough nuance to be the one actor who transcends the script’s stereotyped trappings.Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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New England Realty Associates anticipates that cash from operations will be sufficient to fund its current operations, pay distributions, and make required debt payments.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
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Even after a couple days of running, the required pace still elicited basically the same heart rate.Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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In difficult listening situations, participants described feeling physically and mentally tired.Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024
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But towards the end of the day, when everyone is sufficiently tired out, Webb says there's nothing better than sitting down and winding down together.Alyce Collins, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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And Tuesday night, The Associated Press called the race in Kentucky in his favor at 7 p.m. Kentucky was the first state called for Trump in 2020, a losing campaign against incumbent President Joe Biden.Lucas Aulbach, The Courier-Journal, 6 Nov. 2024
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And a drop for the Dow accurately predicted a loss by the incumbent party 10 out of 11 times.Matt Egan, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Sky noted that the prince seemed more relaxed than usual at his Earthshot Prize.Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
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This app is by no means intended to replace your usual antivirus.PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Sifting through dozens of profiles was a massive time-suck, but a necessary evil.Allie Volpe, Vox, 14 Nov. 2024
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Overgrown fields can provide that necessary edge cover.Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near obligatory
Cite this Entry
“Obligatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obligatory. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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