- bound by law or regulation, moral principle, duty, etc.; obliged: My supervisors talked with me regularly about my ambitions and struggles, not because they felt obligated, but because they truly cared.
- (of funds, property, etc.) pledged, committed, or bound, as to meet an obligation: If a parent is unable to pay the obligated amount, they are free to request the court to modify the child support order.
- the simple past tense and past participle of obligate.
