obliged

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈblaɪd͡ʒd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation, UK: ob‧liged; US: obliged

Adjective

obliged (comparative more obliged, superlative most obliged)

1. Under an obligation to do something.

   All employees are obliged to complete a tax return every year.

2. Grateful or indebted because of a favor done.

   I'm greatly obliged for your help with this problem.

Usage notes

In sense “under obligation”, synonymous with obligated, though the latter is only used in American English and some dialects such as Scottish, not standard British.

In dialects where both obliged and obligated are used, there is no standard distinction drawn, though individuals may distinguish nuance or use idiosyncratically. In technical discussions, particularly legal ones such as The Concept of Law by H. L. A. Hart (1961), the words may carry different meanings, such as obligations inherent to a relationship versus ones externally imposed.

The "grateful or indebted" sense is considered dated in some contexts.

Synonyms

• (under obligation): obligated

Derived terms

• much obliged

Translations

Under an obligation to do something for someone

• Dutch: verschuldigd (nl), verplicht (nl)
• Finnish: velvollinen (fi)
• German: verpflichtet (de)
• Greek: υποχρεωμένος (el) (ypochreoménos)
• Hindi: बाध्य (hi) (bādhya)
• Italian: obligato
• Latin: obligātus
• Norwegian: forpliktet
• Polish: zobligowany m, zobowiązany m
• Portuguese: obrigado (pt) m
• Romanian: obligat (ro)
• Russian: обя́занный (ru) m (objázannyj)
• Spanish: obligado (es)
• Ukrainian: зобов'я́заний (zobovʺjázanyj)

Indebted because of a favor done

• Finnish: kiitollinen (fi)
• Galician: obrigado
• Greek: υποχρεωμένος (el) (ypochreoménos), υπόχρεος (el) (ypóchreos)
• Hindi: ऋणी (hi) (ŕṇī)
• Malay: berhutang budi
• Portuguese: obrigado (pt) m, agradecido (pt) m
• Romanian: îndatorat (ro)
• Russian: благодарен (ru) (blagodaren)
• Spanish: obligado (es), agradecido (es), endeudado (es)
• Ukrainian: зобов'я́заний (zobovʺjázanyj), вдя́чний (uk) (vdjáčnyj)

Verb

obliged

1. simple past and past participle of oblige