compulsory
Required by rule
Compulsory describes something that is required or mandatory, leaving no room for choice.
Compulsory education laws require children to attend school; compulsory military service means citizens must serve in the armed forces.
The word often appears in legal, educational, and governmental contexts where compliance is enforced rather than optional.
Attendance at the safety training is compulsory for all employees.
Required by rule
- obligatoryRequired by rule
- requiredNeeded by rule
- statutoryEstablished by enacted law
- bindingLegally or morally required
prescribed · regulatory · decreed · legislated · enacted · codified · enforceable · lawful
Needed by rule
- essentialFundamentally necessary
- necessaryIndispensable, cannot omit
- indispensableUtterly required, irreplaceable
- imperativeUnavoidably necessary
prerequisite · requisite · needed · vital · unavoidable · inescapable · nonnegotiable · critical
Forced onto others
- coercedPressured into compliance
- compelledMade to act
- forcedMade to occur unwillingly
- conscriptedInvoluntarily enlisted for duty
drafted · commanded · dictated · pressured · coercive · involuntary · unwilling · requisitioned
Formal education received
- attendanceRecord of who's present
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
- truancyUnauthorized absence from school
literacy · primary · secondary · certification · standardized · examination · accreditation · diploma
Required task or commitment
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- requirementMandatory condition to fulfill
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
onus · commitment · charge · service · task · expectation · accountability · incumbency
mandatory
Required by rule
- obligatoryRequired by rule
- requiredNeeded by rule
- statutoryEstablished by enacted law
binding · prescribed · regulatory · decreed · legislated · enacted · codified · enforceable · lawful · sanctioned
required
Needed by rule
- essentialFundamentally necessary
- necessaryIndispensable, cannot omit
- indispensableUtterly required, irreplaceable
imperative · prerequisite · requisite · needed · vital · unavoidable · inescapable · nonnegotiable · critical · fundamental
imposed
Forced onto others
conscripted · drafted · commanded · dictated · pressured · coercive · involuntary · unwilling · requisitioned · enlisted
schooling
Formal education received
- attendanceRecord of who's present
- curriculumEducational program's content plan
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
truancy · literacy · primary · secondary · certification · standardized · examination · accreditation · diploma
obligation
Required task or commitment
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- requirementMandatory condition to fulfill
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
liability · onus · commitment · charge · service · task · expectation · accountability · incumbency · mandate
- skatingskating, ice skating, roller skating, figure skating, inline skating
- academicscholarly, academic, intellectual, erudite, learned
- obligationmandatory, obligatory, required, optional, voluntary
- requirementsrequirement, requirements, prerequisite, requisite, requisites
- prioritypriority, top priority, high priority, low-priority, first priority
- modalitycan, modals, could, may, might
compulsoryoptional
Not mandatory
voluntary · elective · discretionary · noncompulsory · free
compulsoryunnecessary
Not essential or required
nonessential · dispensable · unneeded · inessential · optional
- compulsory laborWork required by law
- compulsory schoolingLegally required attendance at school
- compulsory educationLaw-required learning for minors
- compulsory serviceObligatory work for government
- compulsory purchaseMandated property transfer to state
- compulsory vaccinationLegally required immunization
compulsorily, compulsory education, compulsories, non-compulsory