obligatory
Cannot be skipped
Obligatory describes something required by rule, law, or custom: Attendance at the meeting is obligatory.
The word often carries a note of routine or perfunctory compliance—the obligatory handshake, the obligatory thank-you note—suggesting actions performed because they're expected rather than genuinely felt.
Needed by rule
- compulsoryRequired, not optional
- enforcedMade to be followed
- bindingLegally or morally required
- statutoryEstablished by enacted law
regulatory · prescribed · mandatory · imperative · nonnegotiable · requisite · prerequisite · stipulated
Following long-held customs
- ceremonialRelating to formal rites
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
- expectedRegarded as likely
customary · formal · proper · standard · routine · habitual · prescribed · established
State of being answerable
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
- chargeCost or accusation
liability · pledge · promise · loyalty · devotion · honor · service · allegiance
Impossible to prevent
- inescapableImpossible to avoid
- inevitableCertain to occur
- certainFree from doubt
- unpreventableImpossible to stop ahead
predetermined · fated · imminent · impending · assured · guaranteed · inexorable · necessary
Indispensable, cannot omit
- fundamentalForming the base
- integralAntiderivative or crucial component
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
- crucialOf supreme importance
core · indispensable · intrinsic · basic · foundational · central · paramount · pivotal
required
Needed by rule
- compulsoryRequired, not optional
- enforcedMade to be followed
- bindingLegally or morally required
statutory · regulatory · prescribed · mandatory · imperative · nonnegotiable · requisite · prerequisite · stipulated · decreed
traditional
Following long-held customs
- ceremonialRelating to formal rites
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- conventionalFollowing accepted practices
expected · customary · formal · proper · standard · routine · habitual · prescribed · established · normative
responsibility
State of being answerable
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- commitmentFirm pledge to act
- burdenOppressive weight or duty
charge · liability · pledge · promise · loyalty · devotion · honor · service · allegiance · faithfulness
unavoidable
Impossible to prevent
- inescapableImpossible to avoid
- inevitableCertain to occur
- certainFree from doubt
unpreventable · predetermined · fated · imminent · impending · assured · guaranteed · inexorable · necessary · compelled
necessary
Indispensable, cannot omit
- fundamentalForming the base
- integralAntiderivative or crucial component
- vitalEssential or sustaining existence
crucial · core · indispensable · intrinsic · basic · foundational · central · paramount · pivotal · requisite
- obligationmandatory, required, compulsory, optional, voluntary
- requirementsrequirement, requirements, prerequisite, requisite, requisites
- mandatory thingsmandatory, required, compulsory, necessary, essential
- JummahFriday, Friday sermon, noon prayer, midday prayer, masjid
- Redditsubreddit, upvote, downvote, mod, moderator
- Islamic Lawsharia, Sharia, Shariah, Islamic law, fatwa
obligatoryoptional
Not mandatory
voluntary · elective · discretionary · nonobligatory · nonmandatory
obligatoryfresh
Newly made, not stale
original · novel · surprising · genuine · spontaneous