How to Use obligate in a Sentence

obligate

verb
Definition of obligatenext
Synonyms for obligatenext
  • The contract obligates the firm to complete the work in six weeks.
  • Governments must obligate that money for projects by the end of next year and spend it by the close of 2026.
    — David A. Lieb and Kavish Harjai, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2023
  • No one is obligated to agree with Kristol about the war in Ukraine.
    — Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Being a buy-and-hold investor doesn’t obligate you to use a death grip.
    — Jason Zweig, WSJ, 8 July 2022
  • The move means if Putin sets foot in any of the court's 123 member states, that state is obligated to arrest him.
    — Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2023
  • If a bank fails, the FDIC isn’t obligated to make good on its loan agreements, for instance.
    — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Lawmakers have until the end of 2024 to obligate the Rescue Plan funds.
    — Mike Cason | McAson@al.com, al, 2 Oct. 2021
  • When does the state of knowledge obligate us to change contact sports further—or alter our views of them?
    — Ingfei Chen, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2023
  • The person receiving the gift is obligated to dance with the gift giver, Akpik-Lemen said.
    — Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Even if Schumer called on him to resign, Menendez would not be obligated to obey.
    — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 26 Sep. 2023
  • The vast majority of the band has day jobs that keep them obligated to stay home a little bit, more than some of the other bands.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024
  • Nonetheless, we are obligated to try to understand, and books are the best place to start.
    — Boris Kachka, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
  • As a driver, Nichols was obligated to run errands and to get a job to help support her small household.
    — Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024
  • When on the road, we were obligated to call the office and provide the hotel’s phone number in case someone needed to reach us.
    — Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
  • You are not obligated to go broke paying for your friends’ overindulgence.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 8 July 2023
  • The farmers, in exchange, are obligated to sell their crop to the Chinese company or its agents.
    — Farai Mutsaka, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
  • The party with the largest share of seats is then obligated to obtain support from smaller parties to pass a budget.
    — Matt Ford, The New Republic, 5 Oct. 2023
  • The facts of Cole’s case obligate the state to spare his life, his attorneys in recent months told parole board members, though the arguments failed.
    — Dakin Andone, CNN, 20 Oct. 2022
  • The Senate has already passed a bill obligating schools to tell parents of all books their children check out of campus libraries.
    — Aarón Torres, Dallas News, 20 Apr. 2023
  • If and when a public figure decides to open up about their body (which they are not obligated to!) is completely up to them.
    — Sam Reed, Glamour, 25 July 2023
  • You are not obligated to become friends with the woman, just because your genders match up.
    — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 17 June 2023
  • As hostess, am I obligated to track down the owners and notify them of their oversight?
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2023
  • For Phoenix, the decision has meant scrambling to prop up shelter beds, but if it is overturned, the city may not be legally obligated to do so.
    — Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Are they obligated to acknowledge these notes in any way?
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
  • According to him, the only Roman Catholics who are obligated to fast are people aged 18 to 59.
    — Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Reunion shows aren’t obligated to be good; plenty of bands have made that obvious by now.
    — Pitchfork, 20 Dec. 2023
  • The union accused the coffee chain giant of refusing to bargain in good faith as it is legally obligated to do.
    — Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 17 Apr. 2023
  • But that doesn’t mean that the news media is obligated to accept such assertions at face value.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
  • And oh, holy wow, your support obligates them to produce grandchildren for you not at all, not a bit, not even the fading memory of a bit written in sand.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2023
  • As of now, the $5.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding the state received has all been obligated.
    — Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obligate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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