Oblige

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈblaɪd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. To compel someone to do something by law, necessity, or moral duty, or to do someone a favor or service
2. To necessitate compliance with certain responsibilities or duties due to cultural, legal, or ethical norms, while also providing help or support to others
3. To require an individual to perform an act due to legal, ethical, or social expectations, while also offering assistance or aid as needed

Etymology: The verb "oblige" began as a legal and binding idea. Its Latin source, "obligare," combined "ob-," meaning "toward" or "against," with "ligare," meaning "to bind," so the core picture is of tying someone to a duty. English took it through Middle English "obligen" from Old French "obligier" and "obliger," where the sense of binding by promise or law carried over. The sense of compelling someone to act grew naturally from that binding. If you are obliged to do something, you are tied to it, and the verb came to mean forcing someone to do a thing, as well as doing a favour that creates a debt of gratitude. The same Latin root also gave English "ligament," the tissue that binds bones together, and "ligature," something used to tie.

Synonyms: compel, require, bind, force, indebt

Antonyms: free, release, liberate, disoblige, refuse