obligation
What you owe
An obligation is something you're bound to do—by law, contract, promise, or moral principle.
Legal obligations carry penalties for noncompliance; social obligations carry disapproval.
I have an obligation to my family.
Financial obligations are debts or recurring payments.
To be under no obligation is to be free to decline.
The word often implies burden: something you must do whether you want to or not.
Binding promise given
- vowSolemn personal commitment
- oathFormal binding promise
- promiseCommitment to act
- wordLinguistic meaning unit
assurance · guarantee · undertaking · covenant · bond · engagement · troth · avowal
State of being answerable
assignment · mandate · calling · service · office · requirement · expectation · imperative
Study of right conduct
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
honor · decency · principles · rectitude · probity · uprightness · goodness · altruism
Enacted written rule
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
enforceable · binding · contractual · lawsuit · breach · plaintiff · defendant · judgment
Measure of heaviness
- pressureForce upon contact
- strainExcessive stretching force
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
- loadCarried weight or burden
heaviness · oppression · yoke · millstone · drag · handicap · liability · onus
Protection from threat
- suretyBacker of obligation
- guaranteeFormal promise of fulfillment
- collateralSecurity for debt
- debentureUnsecured debt instrument
certificate · indemnity · recognizance · bail · deposit · pledge · warrant · treasury
Borrowed money repaid later
- creditorOne owed money
- borrowerOne who takes temporarily
- repaymentGiving back what's owed
- interestAttention, stake, or fee
default · mortgage · lender · arrears · installment · principal · foreclosure · bankruptcy
pledge
Binding promise given
word · assurance · guarantee · undertaking · covenant · bond · engagement · troth · avowal · affirmation
responsibility
State of being answerable
charge · assignment · mandate · calling · service · office · requirement · expectation · imperative · necessity
ethics
Study of right conduct
- conscienceInternal moral sense
- integrityMoral soundness and consistency
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
righteousness · honor · decency · principles · rectitude · probity · uprightness · goodness · altruism · philanthropy
statute
Enacted written rule
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- liabilityLegal or financial obligation
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
regulation · enforceable · binding · contractual · lawsuit · breach · plaintiff · defendant · judgment · testimony
weight
Measure of heaviness
- pressureForce upon contact
- strainExcessive stretching force
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
load · heaviness · oppression · yoke · millstone · drag · handicap · liability · onus · albatross
security
Protection from threat
- suretyBacker of obligation
- guaranteeFormal promise of fulfillment
- collateralSecurity for debt
debenture · certificate · indemnity · recognizance · bail · deposit · pledge · warrant · treasury · municipal
loan
Borrowed money repaid later
interest · default · mortgage · lender · arrears · installment · principal · foreclosure · bankruptcy · credit
- normsnorm, norms, standard, social norms, rule
- ordersorder, command, decree, dictate, mandate
- social obligationscourtesy, politeness, greeting, thank you, apology
- civic engagementcivic engagement, citizen participation, civic participation, civic responsibility, civic activism
- contract termscontract terms, agreement, terms, conditions, condition
- moral educationmoral education, moral instruction, character education, moral development, moral lessons
obligationexemption
Release from requirement
release · discharge · relief · absolution · dispensation
obligationoption
Available course of action
choice · alternative · preference · selection · pick
- social obligationRequired interpersonal duty
- familial obligationsDuties owed to relatives
- no obligationNo requirement to act
- moral obligationEthics-based required action
- family obligationsResponsibilities toward one's relatives
- landlord obligationsWhat property owners owe tenants