different between obligate vs prescribe

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin oblig?tus, past participle of oblig?. Doublet of oblige, taken through French.

Pronunciation

• (US) (verb): enPR: ä?bl?g?t, IPA^(key): /??bl??e?t/

(adjective): enPR: ä?bl?g?t, IPA^(key): /??bl???t/

• (UK) (verb): enPR: ôb?l?g?t, IPA^(key): /??bl??e?t/

(adjective): enPR: ôb?l?g?t, IPA^(key): /??bl???t/

Verb

obligate (third-person singular simple present obligates, present participle obligating, simple past and past participle obligated)

1. (transitive, Canada, US, Scotland) To bind, compel, constrain, or oblige by a social, legal, or moral tie.
2. (transitive, Canada, US, Scotland) To cause to be grateful or indebted; to oblige.
3. (transitive, Canada, US, Scotland) To commit (money, for example) in order to fulfill an obligation.

Usage notes

In non-legal usage, almost exclusively used in the passive, in form “obligated to X” where ‘X’ is a verb infinitive or noun phrase, as in “obligated to pay”. Further, it is now only in standard use in American English and some dialects such as Scottish, having disappeared from standard British English by the 20th century, being replaced by obliged (it was previously used in the 17th through 19th centuries).

Synonyms

• (force, compel): See also: force: Synonyms

Derived terms

• obligation
• obligatory

Translations

Adjective

obligate (comparative more obligate, superlative most obligate)

1. (biology) Able to exist or survive only in a particular environment or by assuming a particular role.

   (a plant able to reproduce only from seed.)

2. Absolutely indispensable; essential.

Translations

Antonyms

• facultative
• optional

Related terms

References

• obligate at OneLook Dictionary Search
• obligate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /obli??ate/
• Hyphenation: o?bli?ga?te
• Rhymes: -ate

Verb

obligate

1. present adverbial passive participle of obligi

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

obligate

1. inflection of obligat:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

Participle

oblig?te

1. vocative masculine singular of oblig?tus

English

Alternative forms

• præscribe (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praescribere, from prae (“before”) and scribere (“to write”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p???sk?a?b/, /p???sk?a?b/
• (distinguished from proscribe) IPA^(key): /?p?i??sk?a?b/
• Rhymes: -a?b
• Homophone: proscribe (in some dialects)

Verb

prescribe (third-person singular simple present prescribes, present participle prescribing, simple past and past participle prescribed)

1. (medicine) To order (a drug or medical device) for use by a particular patient (under licensed authority).

2. To specify by writing as a required procedure or ritual; to lay down authoritatively as a guide, direction, or rule of action.
   • 1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperour

     Let streams prescribe their fountains where to run.

Related terms

Derived terms

• deprescribe
• prescriber

Antonyms

• proscribe

Translations

Spanish

Verb

prescribe

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of prescribir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of prescribir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of prescribir.