obligate
verb
- to bind (a person) morally; to compel, constrain, oblige
- impel, compel, or bind to an action or course of action; force or require to do
adjective
- applied to an organism that can survive only if a particular environmental condition is satisfied
- biologically essential for survival
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɒb.lɪ.ɡɪt/ / /ˈɑ.blɪ.ɡɪt/ / /ˈɒb.lɪˌɡeɪt/ / /ˈɑ.blɪˌɡeɪt/
adj
Etymology: 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.
- Requiring a (specified) way of life, habitat, etc.
“[A]nalysis of the chemical composition of their bones reveals that they were obligate carnivores.”
- 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.”
“In some languages such signaling is optional, whereas in others it is obligate.”
- Bound by oath, law or duty.
“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.”
noun
Etymology: 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.
- An obligate organism.
verb
Etymology: First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin obligātus, perfect passive participle of obligō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of oblige, taken through French.
- To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie.
“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.”
- To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige.
- To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.