nondiscretionary.

Required or determined by applicable rules or conditions rather than left to independent judgment or choice.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• nondiscretionary duty
• nondiscretionary payment

On the page

The nondiscretionary duty arose once the stated condition was met.

The payment was nondiscretionary under the agreement, though its calculation still required checking.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Normally non-gradable for a specified formal status; compare degree only where the context genuinely concerns a gradable capacity or characteristic. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: status distinction, institutional analysis, scope qualification, rights analysis. Disciplines: formal writing, institutional procedures, legal-administrative language. Commonness: uncommon.