 3 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
obligation
noun
1: the social force that binds you to your obligations and the
courses of action demanded by that force; "we must
instill a sense of duty in our children"; "every right
implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an
obligation; every possession, a duty"- John
D.Rockefeller Jr [syn: {duty}, {responsibility}]
2: the state of being obligated to do or pay something; "he is
under an obligation to finish the job"
3: a personal relation in which one is indebted for a service
or favor
4: a legal agreement specifying a payment or action and the
penalty for failure to comply
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Obligation \Ob"li*ga"tion\, noun [F. obligation. L. obligatio. See
{Oblige}.]
1. The act of obligating.
2. That which obligates or constrains; the binding power of a
promise, contract, oath, or vow, or of law; that which
constitutes legal or moral duty.
A tender conscience is a stronger obligation than a
proson. --Fuller.
3. Any act by which a person becomes bound to do something to
or for another, or to forbear something; external duties
imposed by law, promise, or contract, by the relations of
society, or by courtesy, kindness, etc.
Every man has obligations which belong to his
station. Duties extend beyond obligation, and direct
the affections, desires, and intentions, as well as
the actions. --Whewell.
4. The state of being obligated or bound; the state of being
indebted for an act of favor or kindness; -- often used
with under to indicate being in that state; as, to place
others under obligations to one.
5. (Law) A bond with a condition annexed, and a penalty for
nonfulfillment. In a larger sense, it is an acknowledgment
of a duty to pay a certain sum or do a certain things.
{Days of obligation}. See under {Day}.
{under obligation}, {under an obligation}. in a state of
obligation[4].
[1913 Webster +PJC]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
183 Moby Thesaurus words for "obligation":
accountability, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
act of grace, act of kindness, affair, agreement, allegiance,
amount due, appreciation, appreciativeness, aptitude, aptness,
arrearage, assigned task, attempt, bad debts, benefaction, benefit,
benevolence, benignity, bill, bills, blessing, bond, borrowing,
boundary condition, bounden duty, burden, business, call,
call of duty, catch, cause, chance, charge, charges, chits, clause,
coaction, commitment, committal, compulsatory, compulsion,
compulsiveness, compulsoriness, compulsory, condition, constraint,
contingency, contract, courtesy, covenant, deal, debt, dedication,
deference, demand, devoir, devotion, donnee, due, dues, duress,
duties and responsibilities, duty, effort, enforcement, engagement,
enterprise, escalator clause, escape clause, escape hatch, ethics,
eventuality, favor, fealty, financial commitment, fine print,
floating debt, forcing, funded debt, given, good deed,
good offices, good turn, grace, gratefulness, gratitude, grounds,
homage, imperative, imperious, indebtedness, indebtment,
inevitability, irresistibility, joker, kicker, kind deed,
kind offices, kindly act, kindness, labor of love, liability,
liableness, likelihood, likeliness, limiting condition,
line of duty, loyalty, mandatedness, mandatoriness, maturity,
mercy, mission, mitzvah, must, national debt, necessariness,
necessitation, necessitude, necessity, need, obligatoriness,
obligatory, obligement, office, onus, operation, ought,
outstanding debt, parameter, part, place, plan, pledge,
possibility, preengagement, prerequisite, probability, program,
project, promise, proneness, proposition, provision, provisions,
proviso, public debt, recognizance, required, requirement,
requisite, respect, responsibility, restraint, right,
saving clause, score, self-imposed duty, sense of obligation,
service, sine qua non, small print, specification, stipulation,
string, task, terms, thankfulness, trust, turn, ultimatum,
uncollectibles, understanding, undertaking, unfulfilled pledge,
venture, verbal agreement, weakness, whereas, work
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