Obligate

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Obligate \Ob"li*gate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Obligated}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Obligating}.] [L. obligatus, p. p. of obligare. See
     {Oblige}.]
     1. To bring or place under obligation, moral or legal; to
        hold by a constraining motive. "Obligated by a sense of
        duty." --Proudfit.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              That's your true plan -- to obligate
              The present ministers of state.       --Churchill.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              That they may not incline or be obligated to any
              vile or lowly occupations.            --Landor.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  obligate
       adj : restricted to a particular condition of life; "an obligate
             anaerobe can survive only in the absence of OXYGen"
             [ant: {facultative}]
       v 1: force or compel somebody to do something; "We compel all
            students to fill out this form" [syn: {compel}, {oblige}]
       2: commit in order to fulfill an obligation; "obligate money"
       3: bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; "He's held by a
          contract"; "I'll hold you by your promise" [syn: {oblige},
           {bind}, {hold}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  25 Moby Thesaurus words for "obligate":
     accept obligation, agree to, answer for, be answerable for,
     be responsible for, be security for, bind, commit, compel,
     constrain, contract, engage, force, go bail for,
     have an understanding, make imperative, make incumbent, oblige,
     pledge, require, saddle with, shake hands on, take the vows, tie,
     undertake