From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_758_zobligeo‧blige /əˈblaɪdʒ/ ●○○ verb formal 1 [transitive]MUST if you are obliged to do something, you have to do it because the situation, the law, a duty etc makes it necessaryoblige somebody to do something The minister was obliged to report at least once every six months. Circumstances had obliged him to sell the business.feel obliged to do something (=feel that you have a duty to do something) Many parents feel obliged to pay for at least part of the wedding. ► Do not use oblige when you are talking about a person making someone do something they do not want to do. Use force or make: They made me (NOT obliged me to) stay behind after school.Grammar Oblige is often passive in this meaning.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that you have to do something rather than are obliged to do something:He had to sell the business.2 [intransitive, transitive]HELP to do something that someone has asked you to do It’s always a good idea to oblige important clients.happy/glad/ready etc to oblige If you need a ride home, I’d be happy to oblige.3 → I’d be obliged if4 → (I’m) much obliged (to you)→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
oblige• Many grown-up people feel obliged by such considerations to continue to acknowledge the authority of their parents over them.• I shall nevertheless oblige him to dance for his own good.• Compulsory competitive tendering will oblige local authorities to bring in managers who demonstrate their ability to deliver the best services to tenants.• For he was obliged now to concentrate on what he was doing, even if it was next to nothing.• Mobutu, of course, obliged, squeezing debt repayments from an impoverished people in his periodic bouts of structural adjustment.• Copyholders were obliged to attend meetings of the manor court, and any changes in tenancy were recorded in the court rolls.• Under the 1982 Supply of Goods and Services Act, the shop is obliged to clean with reasonable skill and care.• It was obliged to exploit its own resources, spiritual as well as material.feel obliged to do something• The vendors, which depend on the tobacco firm for their livelihood, feel obliged to buy a table.• Once in the barn, Stewart felt obliged to follow through on the expedition by dramatically expressing undying love for Susan Mary.• Jobs demand nearly all our waking time, and we feel obliged to give it.• I felt obliged to invite all my family, although I didn't really want to.• A party which feels obliged to pitch such climbs in good conditions should really go and choose something easier.• It would probably not feel obliged to seek further authorisation from the Security Council.• Or what it is to speak so emphatically that even the phlegmatic Mrs Padmore feels obliged to underline it.• She wanted nothing too intimate, nothing which Susan might feel obliged to wear in front of anyone else.• So it felt obliged to withdraw the invitation.happy/glad/ready etc to oblige• I was most happy to oblige.• The landlord's only too happy to oblige.• They will be only too happy to oblige.• Bouvet was happy to oblige, and the Portrait historique was reprinted in the 1699 edition.• Paul was always glad to oblige by hugging back, but not until you asked him.• The contributors to his journal are happy to oblige him.• Only too happy to oblige, she slipped out and along to the kitchen for her breakfast.From Longman Business Dictionaryobligeo‧blige /əˈblaɪdʒ/ verb1[transitive] to make it necessary for someone to do somethingbe obliged to do somethingAs a result of falling profits, we were obliged to close the factory.2[intransitive, transitive] to do something that someone has asked you to doIf you want something that is not on the menu, the staff are happy to oblige.They wanted more direct information than we were giving, and we’ve obliged them.→ See Verb tableOrigin oblige (1200-1300) Old French obliger, from Latin obligare, from ligare “to tie” 