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Definition of "oblige" []

  • To constrain by physical, legal, social, or moral means. (verb-transitive)
  • To make indebted or grateful: I am obliged to you for your gracious hospitality. (verb-transitive)
  • To do a service or favor for: They obliged us by arriving early. (verb-transitive)
  • To do a service or favor: The soloist obliged with yet another encore. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "oblige" in a sentence
  • "Perhaps, then, there are times when noblesse oblige is a better principle than mere populism and compromise."
  • "The expression "noblesse oblige" is difficult to define but its implications are precise and clear."
  • "He sort of asks these spirits in the house for help and they oblige, which is pretty sweet laughs."