obliging
ob·lig·ing/əˈblaɪd͡ʒɪŋ/adjective, noun, verb
obliging is spelled O-B-L-I-G-I-N-G: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ob·lig·ing). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, obliging means “Happy and ready to do favours for others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obliging?
| Letters | 8: O-B-L-I-G-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ob·lig·ing |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is obliging?
Obliging appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd 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 obliging?
- /əˈblaɪd͡ʒɪŋ/
Obliging has 3 syllables, split ob·lig·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-obliging.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obliging
- more obliging comparative
- most obliging superlative
- obligings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obliging mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Happy and ready to do favours for others.
noun
- 1
The imposition of an obligation.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of oblige
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obliging in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Happy and ready to do favours for others:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | serviable |
| German | verbindlich |
| Portuguese | prestativo, solícito |
| Spanish | acomedido, servicial |
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.