that must be done because of a law or a rulesynonymmandatoryIt is compulsory for all motorcyclists to wear helmets.English is a compulsory subject at this level.compulsory education/schoolingcompulsory redundanciesoppositevoluntaryOxford Collocations DictionaryCompulsory is used with these nouns: attendance,conscription,education,…Seefull entrySee related entries:Subjects and coursesWord Originearly 16th cent. (as a noun denoting a legal mandate which had to be obeyed): from medieval Latin compulsorius, from compuls- ‘driven, forced’, from the verb compellere, from com- ‘together’ + pellere ‘drive’. Extra examplesIt is compulsory for all motorcyclists to wear helmets.The strikers are protesting against the threat of compulsory redundancies.There is no compulsory education in this part of Africa.
See compulsory in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee compulsory in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
