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If you are obliged by a rule or law you are metaphorically bound by it—that is, you are required to obey it. The idea of binding links the word to its Latin source, ligāre, meaning “to fasten, bind.” In the most common modern uses of oblige, though, the idea of binding is somewhat masked: it is applied when someone is bound by a debt for some favor or service, as in “We’re much obliged to you for the help,” but in the phrase “happy to oblige” it simply expresses a willingness to do someone a favor, as in “They needed a ride and we were happy to oblige.”
Examples of oblige in a Sentence
Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2025
As a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the court in 2002, Hungary is obliged to arrest Netanyahu.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
The law also obliges parents to set money aside for children who appear on the internet.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration reintroduced a clause on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Kyiv to repay the full amount of U.S. aid provided since the beginning of the war, which the Kiel Institute said would amount to around $123 billion.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oblige
Cite this Entry
“Oblige.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oblige. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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oblige
verb
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