Skip to content

obligation

obligation, duty

noun ob-lee-gah-SYOHN Less Common

Origin: Latin obligatio

Also means

bond (finance)

Usage Note

Obligation in everyday language means a duty or requirement: avoir l'obligation de means 'to be obliged to'. In finance, une obligation is a bond or debenture. The phrase sans obligation ('no obligation') is common in commerce and advertising.

Examples

"Tu as l'obligation de respecter les règles."

Natural Translation

You are obliged to follow the rules.

Literal Translation

You have the obligation to respect the rules.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic