Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To compel or constrain by a social, legal, or moral requirement. synonym: force.
- transitive verb To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige.
- transitive verb To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.
- adjective Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role.
- noun An obligate organism.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To bind by legal or moral tie, as by oath, indenture, or treaty; bring under legal or moral obligation; hold to some specific act or duty; pledge.
- To place under obligation in any way, as on account of continued favors or repeated acts of kindness; make beholden or indebted; constrain by considerations of duty, expediency, courtesy, etc.
- Constrained or bound; having of necessity a particular character, or restricted to a particular course.
- noun An obligate parasite. See quotation under obligate, a.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To bring or place under obligation, moral or legal; to hold by a constraining motive.
- transitive verb To bind or firmly hold to an act; to compel; to constrain; to bind to any act of duty or courtesy by a formal pledge.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
bind ,compel , orconstrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms atforce . - verb transitive To cause to be
grateful orindebted ; tooblige . - verb transitive To
commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation. - adjective biology Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role: an obligate parasite; an obligate anaerobe.
- adjective Absolutely
indispensable ;essential .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb force somebody to do something
- verb commit in order to fulfill an obligation
- adjective restricted to a particular condition of life
- verb bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Because these probes remain obligate tetramers, they are not the best choice for labeling proteins.
Archive 2005-10-01 2005
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Recovery Act deadline to "obligate" - or commit to specific projects - 100 percent of their highway Recovery funds.
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Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that every state and the District of Columbia met the March 2 Recovery Act deadline to "obligate" - or commit to specific projects - 100 percent of their highway Recovery funds.
Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7 usgov 2010
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The female feeds the tadpole special infertile decapsulated eggs pumilio are known as obligate egg-feeders, along with D. histrionicus and D. lehmanni, often assisted by the male, who will call from tad-containing axils to encourage the female to swing by and feed the kids.
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The female feeds the tadpole special infertile decapsulated eggs pumilio are known as obligate egg-feeders, along with D. histrionicus and D. lehmanni, often assisted by the male, who will call from tad-containing axils to encourage the female to swing by and feed the kids.
Elephants 2007
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For this reason, viruses are called obligate intracellular parasites.
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Some prokaryotes cannot grow in the absence of oxygen for cellular respiration and are called obligate aerobes.
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Some prokaryotes are poisoned by oxygen and are called obligate anaerobes.
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SURVIVAL TIP #3: Don't "obligate" yourself into Wedding Overload
Paige Parker: The Single Girl's Survival Guide to a Drama-Free Wedding Season 2010
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This dolphin is among the four "obligate" freshwater dolphins found in the world - the other three are the baiji found in the Yangtze river in China, the bhulan of the Indus in Pakistan and the boto of the Amazon River in Latin America.
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