obligation
Other forms: obligations
An obligation is a duty. It's your obligation or responsibility to call your mom on Mother's Day. Sending flowers would be even better.
When you are morally or legally bound to a particular commitment, it's your obligation to follow through on it. If you see a crime taking place, for example, it's your obligation to notify the police. If an elderly person comes onto a full bus, it's your obligation to give up your seat for him. Sometimes when you enter a formal agreement with someone involving money, you might have to sign an obligation that states you are committed to paying back what you've borrowed.
Definitions of obligation
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the state of being obligated to do or pay something“he is under an obligation to finish the job”types:limited liabilitythe liability of a firm's owners for no more than the capital they have invested in the firmdebtthe state of owing something (especially money)arrearsthe state of being behind in paymentsaccount payable, payablea liability account showing how much is owed for goods and services purchased on creditscot and lotobligations of all kinds taken as a wholetype of:statethe way something is with respect to its main attributes
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the social force that binds you to the courses of action demanded by that force“every opportunity, an obligation”synonyms: duty, responsibilitytypes:jobthe responsibility to do somethingmoral obligationan obligation arising out of considerations of right and wrongnoblesse obligethe obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically)burden of proofthe responsibility to show evidence of a disputed claimfilial dutyduty of a child to its parentsimperativesome duty that is essential and urgentincumbencya duty that is incumbent upon youlegal dutyacts which the law requires be done or forborneline of dutyall that is normally required in some area of responsibilitywhite man's burdenthe supposed responsibility of the white race to provide care for their non-white subjectscustody, hands(with `in') guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a childjury dutythe civic duty to serve on a juryfiduciary dutythe legal duty of a fiduciary to act in the best interests of the beneficiarypreconditiona condition that is a prerequisiteacademic requirementa requirement for admission to or completion of an academic programtype of:social controlcontrol exerted (actively or passively) by group action
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a personal relation in which one is indebted for a service or favorsynonyms: indebtedness
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a written promise to repay a debtsynonyms: certificate of indebtedness, debt instrumenttypes:cash equivalenta highly liquid debt instrument with maturities of less than three monthsnote, note of hand, promissory notea promise to pay a specified amount on demand or at a certain timefloatera debt instrument with a variable interest rate tied to some other interest rate (e.g. the rate paid by T-bills)bond, bond certificatea certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principalbond issuebonds sold by a corporation or government agency at a particular time and identifiable by date of maturityconvertible bonda bond that can be converted to other securities under certain conditionscorporate bonda bond issued by a corporation; carries no claim to ownership and pays no dividends but payments to bondholders have priority over payments to stockholdersbearer bond, coupon bonda bond issued with detachable coupons that must be presented to the issuer for interest paymentsgovernment bonda bond that is an IOU of the United States Treasury; considered the safest security in the investment worldhigh-yield bond, junk bonda (speculative) bond with a credit rating of BB or lower; issued for leveraged buyouts and other takeovers by companies with questionable creditmunicipal bonda bond issued by a state or local governmentnoncallable bonda bond containing a provision that the holder cannot redeem the security before a specific date (usually at maturity)performance bond, surety bonda bond given to protect the recipient against loss in case the terms of a contract are not filled; a surety company assumes liability for nonperformancepost-obit bonda bond made by a reversioner to secure a loan; payable out of his reversionregistered bonda bond whose owner is recorded on the books of the issuer; can be transferred to another owner only when endorsed by the registered ownerrevenue bonda bond issued by an agency that is commissioned to finance public works; revenue from the public property is used to pay off the bondsecured bonda bond that is back by collateraldebenture, debenture bond, unsecured bondthe ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the futurezero coupon bond, zero-coupon bonda bond that is issued at a deep discount from its value at maturity and pays no interest during the life of the bond; the commonest form of zero-coupon securitytime deposita certificate of deposit from which withdrawals can be made only after advance notice or at a specified future datedemand notea note payable on demandnote receivableyour right in a promissory note in which the maker promises to pay a certain amount of money at a certain timenote payablea note promising to pay a certain amount of money at a certain timecommercial paperan unsecured and unregistered short-term obligation issued by an institutional borrower to investors who have temporarily idle cashmunicipal notea municipal debt instrument with a maturity of less than 2 yearsIOUan informal debt instrument; representing `I owe you'time notea note that specifies the time (or times) of repaymentPremium Bonda government bond that bears no interest or capital gains but enters the holder into lotteriestype of:documenta written account of ownership or obligation
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a legal agreement specifying a payment or action and the penalty for failure to complytypes:debtan obligation to pay or do somethingtype of:written agreementa legal document summarizing the agreement between parties
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Vocabulary lists containing obligation
The Diary of Anne Frank
This dramatic adaptation of the diary of a young Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis won both a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
The Things They Carried
A series of linked stories explores the lifelong effects of trauma on a platoon of soldiers during and after the Vietnam War.
Freak the Mighty
Freak the Mighty tells the story of an unlikely friendship between an awkward, lumbering outcast and a physically challenged genius. Together, the two boys become a force for good.