Oblige
[ə'blaɪdʒ]
Definition
(verb.) bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; 'He's held by a contract'; 'I'll hold you by your promise'.
(verb.) provide a service or favor for someone; 'We had to oblige him'.
Typed by Chloe--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To attach, as by a bond.
(v. t.) To constrain by physical, moral, or legal force; to put under obligation to do or forbear something.
(v. t.) To bind by some favor rendered; to place under a debt; hence, to do a favor to; to please; to gratify; to accommodate.
Typed by Cyril
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Compel, force, coerce, constrain.[2]. Serve, accommodate, please, favor, gratify, do a service for, do a favor to.[3]. Obligate, bind, bring under obligation.
Typed by Jennifer
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Compel, coerce, necessitate, force, benefit, favor, accommodate, gratify, bind,constrain
ANT:Release, acquit, induce, persuade, {[annon]?}, disoblige
Typist: Susan
Definition
v.t. to bind or constrain: to bind by some favour rendered hence to do a favour to.—adj. Ob′ligable that can be held to a promise or an undertaking: true to a promise or a contract.—n. Ob′ligant one who binds himself to another to pay or to perform something.—v.t. Ob′ligāte to constrain: to bind by contract or duty:—pr.p. ob′ligāting; pa.p. ob′ligāted.—n. Obligā′tion act of obliging: the power which binds to a promise a duty &c.: any act which binds one to do something for another: that to which one is bound: state of being indebted for a favour: (law) a bond containing a penalty in case of failure.—adv. Ob′ligatorily.—n. Ob′ligatoriness.—adj. Ob′ligātory binding: imposing duty.—ns. Obligee (ob-li-jē′) the person to whom another is obliged; Oblige′ment a favour conferred.—adj. Oblig′ing disposed to confer favours: ready to do a good turn.—adv. Oblig′ingly.—ns. Oblig′ingness; Ob′ligor (law) the person who binds himself to another.
Edited by Karl
Examples
- How to oblige Robert and you? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I wish Sympson would come again, and oblige her again to entwine her arms about me. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I dare say she partly does it to oblige Robert and myself. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Why should you expect me to oblige you by hearing you play the flute, any more than I should expect you to oblige me by not playing it? George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- You would oblige me by bringing with you your very excellent field-glass. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- But Henry must not be disappointed of his recitation, and Olympia will deign to oblige him. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Though those complaints produced no act of parliament, they had probably intimidated the company so far, as to oblige them to reform their conduct. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- It was put an end to by Mrs. Dashwood, who felt obliged to hope that he had left Mrs. Ferrars very well. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Those who loved reading were obliged to send for their books from England: the members of the Junto had each a few. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- At last I had to say to General Thomas that I should be obliged to remove him unless he acted promptly. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Now, Mr. Trelawney Hope, I should be much obliged if you would tell me exactly the circumstances under which this document disappeared. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- I was obliged to recall him to a theme which was of necessity one of close and anxious interest to me. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- We are obliged to you for the plainness with which you have spoken. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Minerva was obliged to yield, and, of course, disliked her from that day. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- And he indirectly obliges me to force them, if I give her his message. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I only say to you what the lamentable state of my health obliges me to say to everybody. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- My objection is, that your proposal obliges us to wait. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- While it obliges the people to pay, it may thus diminish, or perhaps destroy, some of the funds which might enable them more easily to do so. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Truth obliges us to confess that Rebecca had married a gentleman of this order. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- It obliges me to refer again to a painful subject. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Unhappily there is more, much more, which the unrelenting pecuniary pressure of Mr. Blake's cheque obliges me to tell. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- The house, furniture, neighbourhood, and roads, were all to her taste, and Lady Catherine's behaviour was most friendly and obliging. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- You are too obliging, my dear Miss Woodhouse; but we really must take leave. Jane Austen. Emma.
- As the door opened she was heard, So very obliging of you! Jane Austen. Emma.
- Fanny would have had quite as good a walk there, I assure you, with the advantage of being of some use, and obliging her aunt: it is all her fault. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- I availed myself of your obliging hints to correct my timidity, and it is unnecessary to add that they were perfectly accurate. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Her master's compliments, and would I be so obliging as to say what my business was? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Dr. Bretton seems to respect papa, and to have pleasure in obliging him. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
Typed by Connie