Which to use
“obligation” and “obligations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,390
- “obligation” frequency rank
- #7,255
- “obligations” frequency rank
- 13645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obligation | obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of binding oneself by a social, legal, or moral tie to someone. | plural of obligation |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set obligation and obligations apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. obligation (/ˌɒb.lɪˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/) and obligations (/ɑb.ləˈɡeɪ.ʃənz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “obligation” sits inside “obligations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obligation is recorded at frequency rank #6,390, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɒb.lɪˈɡeɪ.ʃn̩/. obligations is at rank #7,255, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɑb.ləˈɡeɪ.ʃənz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 13645, this pair ranks #474,604 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obligation vs obligations
Shared letters: abgilnot. Private to "obligation": -. Private to "obligations": s.
"obligation" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC · "obligations" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- obligation ← boligation · obbligation · obilgation · oblgiation · obliagtion · obligaiton · obligasion · obligatino
- obligations ← boligations · obbligations · obilgations · oblgiations · obliagtions · obligaitons · obligatinos · obligationns
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obligation" and "obligations" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "obligation" or "obligations"?
Remembering obligation vs obligations
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “obligation” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable