¹mandatory

adjective man·da·to·ry \ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē\

: required by a law or rule

Full Definition of MANDATORY

: required by a law or rule : obligatory <the mandatory retirement age>

: of, by, relating to, or holding a League of Nations mandate

— man·da·tor·i·ly \-ˌtȯr-ə-lē\ adverb

See mandatory defined for English-language learners

See mandatory defined for kids

Examples of MANDATORY

Parents object to the mandatory nature of the shots—and the fact that their child's access to education hinges on compliance with the immunization regulations. —Alice Park, Time, 2 June 2008
In a move some are calling a “backdoor draft,” the Pentagon has announced it will issue mandatory recalls to more than 5,600 Army troops for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. —Nathaniel Frank, Washington Post, 12 July 2004
At the same time, the 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which ended mandatory balanced coverage of politics, gave birth to talk radio, and the television universe splintered between the old networks and the new culture of cable gladiators in which opinion was more entertaining than information and cheaper to produce as well. —Nancy Gibbs, Time, 27 September 2004
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Origin of MANDATORY

(see ¹mandate)

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to MANDATORY

Synonyms: compulsory, forced, imperative, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, peremptory, required

Antonyms: elective, optional, voluntary

Rhymes with MANDATORY

a priori, allegory, amatory, auditory, bedtime story, cacciatore, castratory, category, con amore, cover story, crematory, damnatory, decretory, dilatory, dormitory, excretory, expletory, feudatory, fumitory, Göteborg, gustatory, gyratory, horror story, hortatory, hunky-dory, inventory, laudatory, lavatory, migratory, minatory, monitory, Montessori, morning glory, nugatory, offertory, oratory, overstory, piscatory, precatory, predatory, prefatory, probatory, promissory, promontory, purgatory, repertory, Ruwenzori, signatory, statutory, sudatory, territory, transitory, understory, vibratory, vomitory, yakitori

²mandatory

noun man·da·to·ry \ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē\

plural man·da·to·ries

Definition of MANDATORY

: one given a mandate; especially : a nation holding a mandate from the League of Nations

Origin of MANDATORY

(see ¹mandate)

First Known Use: 1661

MANDATORY Defined for Kids

mandatory

adjective man·da·tory \ˈman-də-ˌtȯr-ē\

Definition of MANDATORY for Kids

: required by law or by a command <Student attendance is mandatory.>

Word Root of MANDATORY

The Latin word mandāre, meaning “to commit” or “to order,” gives us the root mand. Words from the Latin mandāre have something to do with committing or ordering. When a task is mandatory, someone has ordered that it must be done. To command is to order someone to do something. A mandate is an order from an authority to follow specific instructions.