obligatory
/əˈblɪɡ.ə.t(ə)ɹi/
"obligatory" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obligatory” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,429 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,429
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Imposing obligation, legally, morally, or otherwise; binding; mandatory.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obligatory |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /əˈblɪɡ.ə.t(ə)ɹi/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #17,429 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obligatory” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for obligatory is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈblɪɡ.ə.t(ə)ɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,429 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for obligatory, with forms such as "boligatory", "obbligatory", and "obilgatory". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English obligatorie, from Latin obligatōrius. The correct English form is obligatory, spelled O-B-L-I-G-A-T-O-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Imposing obligation, legally, morally, or otherwise; binding; mandatory.
- 2Requiring a matter or obligation.
Etymology
From Middle English obligatorie, from Latin obligatōrius.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: boligatory,obbligatory,obilgatory,oblgiatory,obliagtory,obligaotry,obligatorry,obligatoryy,obligatoyr,obligatroy,obligattory,obliggatory,obligtaory,oblligatory,olbigatory
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obligatory - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "obligatory"?
What does "obligatory" mean?
What are common misspellings of "obligatory"?
How do you pronounce "obligatory"?
What is the origin of the word "obligatory"?
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Using “obligatory”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-L-I-G-A-T-O-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈblɪɡ.ə.t(ə)ɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.