Synonyms for oblige
əˈblaɪdʒoblige

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.8 / 6 votes

1. oblige

   Binding is primarily by something flexible, as a cord or bandage drawn closely around an object or group of objects, as when we bind up a wounded limb. We bind a sheaf of wheat with a cord; we tie the cord in a knot; we fasten by any means that will make things hold together, as a board by nails, or a door by a lock. The verbs tie and fasten are scarcely used in the figurative sense, tho, using the noun, we speak of the ties of affection. Bind has an extensive figurative use. One is bound by conscience or honor; he is obliged by some imperious necessity; engaged by his own promise; compelled by physical force or its moral equivalent.

   Synonyms:
   bind, compel, engage, fasten, fetter, fix, restrain, restrict, secure, shackle, tie

   Antonyms:
   free, loose, set free, unbind, unfasten, unloose, untie

   Preposition:
   Bind to a pillar; unto an altar; to a service; bind one with chains or in chains; one is bound by a contract; a splint is bound upon a limb; the arms may be bound to the sides or behind the back; bind a wreath about, around, or round the head; twigs are bound in or into fagots; for military purposes, they are bound at both ends and in the middle; one is bound by a contract, or bound under a penalty to fulfil a contract.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. oblige

   Synonyms:
   compel, coerce, necessitate, force, benefit, favor, accommodate, gratify, bind, constrain

   Antonyms:
   release, acquit, induce, persuade, annoy, disoblige

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. compel, oblige, obligateverb

   force somebody to do something

   "We compel all students to fill out this form"

   Synonyms:
   accommodate, bind, obligate, compel, hold

   Antonyms:
   disoblige

2. oblige, bind, hold, obligateverb

   bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted

   "He's held by a contract"; "I'll hold you by your promise"

   Synonyms:
   accommodate, book, attach, tie up, bond, view as, support, hold back, bandage, defend, take hold, bind, carry, deem, truss, hold up, arrest, hold, adjudge, guard, take, have, concord, check, make, stick, take for, go for, throw, defy, control, harbor, keep, apply, obligate, give, hold fast, entertain, concur, nurse, curb, constipate, moderate, tie down, stick to, have got, restrain, obtain, withstand, agree, sustain, halt, harbour, tie, maintain, confine, contain, keep back, retain, prevail, reserve, admit, compel, hold in, declare, adhere, bear

   Antonyms:
   disoblige

3. oblige, accommodateverb

   provide a service or favor for someone

   "We had to oblige him"

   Synonyms:
   admit, adapt, lodge, compel, fit, suit, accommodate, obligate, conciliate, hold, reconcile, bind

   Antonyms:
   disoblige

Matched Categories

1. • Cause
   • Comply

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obligeverb

   Synonyms:
   compel, force, coerce, constrain

2. obligeverb

   Synonyms:
   serve, accommodate, please, favor, gratify, do a service for, do a favor to

3. obligeverb

   Synonyms:
   OBLIGATE, bind, bring under obligation

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obligeverb

   Synonyms:
   constrain, obligate, please, gratify, accommodate, coerce, compel, necessitate, force

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "oblige":

   compel, force, require, obligate, coerce, commit

How to pronounce oblige?

How to say oblige in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use oblige in a sentence?

1. Leo Tolstoy:

   I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conlusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleages, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.

2. Thomas Jefferson:

   The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army. Their system was to make every man a soldier, and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country whenever that was reared. This made them invincible and the same remedy will make us so.

3. Karl Kraus:

   What torture, this life in society! Often someone is obliging enough to offer me a light, and in order to oblige him I have to fish a cigarette out of my pocket.

4. H. G. Wells:

   There is nothing in machinery, there is nothing in embankments and railways and iron bridges and engineering devices to oblige them to be ugly. Ugliness is the measure of imperfection.

5. Alexander Hamilton:

   In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men the great difficulty lies in this You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place, oblige it to control itself.