mandatory
You must comply
Mandatory means required, not optional.
A mandatory meeting must be attended; mandatory sentencing laws remove judicial discretion.
The word carries more force than required—it suggests official compulsion or strict rules: Helmets are mandatory for all riders.
The noun mandate shares the sense of authoritative command.
Needed by rule
- obligatoryRequired by rule
- compulsoryRequired, not optional
- requisiteSomething absolutely needed
- prerequisiteRequired prior condition
essential · necessary · binding · unavoidable · inescapable · nonnegotiable · indispensable · imperative
Established by enacted law
- prescribedOfficially recommended or mandated
- regulatedMade to follow rules
- decreedFormally ordered by authority
- imposedForced onto others
dictated · standardized · codified · legislated · enacted · sanctioned · authorized · enforceable
Required prior condition
- preconditionNecessary prior requirement
- stipulationCondition in an agreement
- conditionState or stipulation
- qualificationRequired skill or condition
criterion · specification · threshold · baseline · minimum · standard · benchmark · checkpoint
required
Needed by rule
- obligatoryRequired by rule
- compulsoryRequired, not optional
- requisiteSomething absolutely needed
prerequisite · essential · necessary · binding · unavoidable · inescapable · nonnegotiable · indispensable · imperative · forced
statutory
Established by enacted law
- prescribedOfficially recommended or mandated
- regulatedMade to follow rules
- decreedFormally ordered by authority
imposed · dictated · standardized · codified · legislated · enacted · sanctioned · authorized · enforceable · compliance
prerequisite
Required prior condition
- preconditionNecessary prior requirement
- stipulationCondition in an agreement
- conditionState or stipulation
qualification · criterion · specification · threshold · baseline · minimum · standard · benchmark · checkpoint · hurdle
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- mandatory thingsrequired, obligatory, compulsory, necessary, essential
- policy adjectivesfiscal, domestic, foreign, federal, national
- adjectivesbig, urgent, amazing, temporary, bold
- obligationobligatory, required, compulsory, optional, voluntary
- requirementsrequirement, requirements, prerequisite, requisite, requisites
mandatoryoptional
Not mandatory
voluntary · elective · discretionary · nonmandatory · non-compulsory
mandatoryunnecessary
Not essential or required
nonessential · dispensable · unneeded · optional · inessential
- mandatory serviceLegally required contribution
- mandatory minimumsLegally required base sentences
- mandatory evacuationForced departure order
- mandatory schoolingLegally required attendance at school
- mandatory reportingLegal duty to notify authorities
- mandatory overtimeRequired work beyond standard hours