obligation.

A duty or commitment that binds someone to an action.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• legal obligation
• contractual obligation

On the page

The contract creates an obligation to report changes promptly.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular obligation; plural obligations. 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: analysis, description. Commonness: common.