obligatory
/əˈblɪɡ.ə.tɔ.ɹi/adjective
obligatory is spelled O-B-L-I-G-A-T-O-R-Y: 10 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, obligatory means “Imposing obligation, legally, morally, or otherwise; binding; mandatory” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obligatory?
| Letters | 10: O-B-L-I-G-A-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is obligatory?
Obligatory appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obligatory?
- UK /əˈblɪɡ.ə.t(ə)ɹi/
- US /əˈblɪɡ.ə.tɔ.ɹi/
- US /ˈɑ.blɪ.ɡəˌtɔ.ɹi/
Obligatory has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-obligatory.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Lordgilman-obligatory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obligatory
- more obligatory comparative
- most obligatory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obligatory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Imposing obligation, legally, morally, or otherwise; binding; mandatory.
an obligatory promise
- 2
Requiring a matter or obligation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate obligatory?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of obligatory: OB.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obligatory in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense binding – see also mandatory, compulsory:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obligatoire |
| German | obligatorisch |
| Portuguese | obrigatório |
| Spanish | obligatorio, obligativo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obligatory come from?
From Middle English obligatorie, from Latin obligatōrius.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).