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The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms INTRO ...

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the children home safely. Civil servants have an obligation to<br />

serve the people. I could never fulfil all my obligations. 2<br />

constraint, requirement, contract, promise, pledge, bond,<br />

agreement, covenant: <strong>The</strong> company is under no obligation to<br />

replace a product because the customer dislikes its colour. I am<br />

under an obligation to her for introducing us. 3 debt,<br />

liability: Denby may be unable to meet all his obligations.<br />

obligatory<br />

adj. required, demanded, necessary, requisite, compulsory,<br />

mandatory; incumbent; indispensable, essential: Has she been<br />

able to meet all the obligatory qualifications?<br />

oblige v. 1 accommodate, indulge, favour, serve, please, cater to,<br />

gratify: <strong>The</strong> hotelier obliged us with every luxury he had to<br />

<strong>of</strong>fer. Please oblige us by keeping your dog on a lead. 2 make,<br />

require, demand, force, compel, coerce, bind, obligate: What<br />

hold has she over you that obliges you to do her housework?<br />

obliged adj. 1 thankful, grateful, appreciative, beholden, indebted,<br />

obligated: We are deeply obliged to you for lending us your<br />

car. 2 bound, required, compelled, forced, made, obligated:<br />

Under the terms <strong>of</strong> the agreement, I am obliged to repay the debt<br />

by May.<br />

obliging adj. accommodating, willing, indulgent, gracious, courteous,<br />

civil, considerate, polite, agreeable, amenable, kind, kindly,<br />

helpful, friendly, amiable, neighbourly, supportive: It was<br />

very obliging <strong>of</strong> you to look after my cat while I was gone.<br />

oblique adj. 1 slanting, slanted, sloping, aslant, inclined, diagonal,<br />

inclining, angled, angling, canted, canting, banked, banking,<br />

cambered, crooked, askew, divergent, diverging, tilted, atilt,<br />

tilting: <strong>The</strong> ro<strong>of</strong> joins the wall at an oblique angle. 2 awry,<br />

devious, roundabout, indirect, circuitous, circumlocutionary,<br />

evasive, sly, sidelong, <strong>of</strong>fhand, surreptitious, furtive,<br />

implied, clandestine, underhand(ed), deceitful, devious,<br />

deceptive, false: She made some oblique comments about the<br />

candidate's wife.<br />

obliterate<br />

v. 1 erase, expunge, rub out, efface, eradicate, wipe out,<br />

delete, dele, strike <strong>of</strong>f or out, strike from, rule out,

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