oblige
pronunciation
How to pronounce oblige in British English:
UK [əˈblaɪdʒ]
How to pronounce oblige in American English:
US [əˈblaɪdʒ]
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- Verb:
- force or compel somebody to do something
- bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted
- provide a service or favor for someone
Word Origin
- oblige
- oblige: [13] To oblige someone is etymologically to ‘bind them to’ something with a promise. The word comes via Old French obliger from Latin obligāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix ob- ‘to’ and ligāre ‘tie’ (source of English liable, ligament, etc). By classical times its original literal sense had been extended figuratively to ‘make liable, put under an obligation’. The synonymous obligate [16] comes from its past participial stem, as does obligatory [15].=> liable, ligament, obligatory
- oblige (v.)
- c. 1300, "to bind by oath," from Old French obligier "engage one's faith, commit (oneself), pledge" (13c.), from Latin obligare "to bind, bind up, bandage," figuratively "put under obligation," from ob "to" (see ob-) + ligare "to bind," from PIE root *leig- "to bind" (see ligament). Main modern meaning "to make (someone) indebted by conferring a benefit or kindness" is from 1560s. Related: obliged; obliging.
Example
- 1. Mr venizelos , desperate to please creditors now , is expected to oblige .
- 2. The commitments should oblige the government to tighten the budget when the economy improves .
- 3. Sometimes the way the united states behaves in latin america seems calculated to oblige its friends to seek other allies .
- 4. Fiscal cutbacks will indeed throw labor out of work , or at least oblige it to find lower-paid jobs with fewer rights .
- 5. Nobody knows if tighter lending standards will oblige borrowers to raise more capital , triggering more sales in stockmarkets and more pain .