Thesaurus
obligatory
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of OBLIGATORY
1
forcing one's compliance or participation by or as if by law <in this state, school attendance is obligatory until the age of 16>
Synonyms compulsory, forced, imperative, incumbent, involuntary, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, peremptory, required
Related Words all-important, essential, indispensable, needed, requisite; insistent, persistent, pressing, urgent; demanded, enforced; coercive
Near Antonyms chosen, discretionary; dispensable, unnecessary, unneeded, unwanted; inconsequential, insignificant, nonessential, unimportant
2
used or heard so often as to be dull <the obligatory cliff-hanger endings for season finales of TV shows>
Synonyms banal, cliché (also cliche), clichéd, cobwebby, commonplace, hack, hackney, hackneyed, moth-eaten, musty, obligatory, shopworn, stereotyped, threadbare, timeworn, tired, trite, well-worn
Related Words twice-told; bromidic, platitudinal, platitudinous; canned, cardboard, conventional, cookie-cutter, derivative, imitative, ready-made, tried-and-true, unimaginative, uninspired, unoriginal; normal, ordinary, rote, routine, standard, stock, typical, usual; arid, barren, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, dull, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monotonous, numbing, old, pedantic, pedestrian, ponderous, prosaic, stodgy, stuffy, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, undramatic, uninteresting, vapid, wearisome, weary, wearying; old-fashioned, old hat
Near Antonyms animating, energizing, enlivening, exciting, galvanizing, invigorating, stimulating; absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting; atypical, extraordinary, strange, unaccustomed, uncommon, unfamiliar, unheard-of, unknown, unprecedented, unusual; pathbreaking, pioneering, trailblazing
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