different between obligatory vs compulsory

English

Etymology

From Middle English obligatorie, from Latin obligat?rius.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??bl???t??i/, /??bl???t??i/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /??bl???t(?)?i/

Adjective

obligatory (comparative more obligatory, superlative most obligatory)

1. Imposing obligation, legally, morally, or otherwise; binding; mandatory.
   • 1673, Richard Baxter, Christian Directory

     […] if he speak the words of an oath in a strange language, thinking they signify something else, or if he spake in his sleep, or deliration, or distraction, it is no oath, and so not obligatory.
2. Requiring a matter or obligation.

Synonyms

• bounden
• mandatory

Antonyms

• optional

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• obligatory in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Middle English

Adjective

obligatory

1. Alternative form of obligatorie

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin compulsorius, from Latin compulsus.

Pronunciation

• enPR: k?m-p?l's?-r? IPA^(key): /k?m?p?ls?ri/

Adjective

compulsory (comparative more compulsory, superlative most compulsory)

1. Required; obligatory; mandatory.
   • 1827, A. D. Jr., Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, A. and C. Black, page 212:

     They are entirely private concerns, established by individual teachers, and attendance upon them is no more compulsory than attendance on our dispensaries.
2. Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

Synonyms

• mandatory

Antonyms

• (required): optional

Translations

Noun

compulsory (plural compulsories)

1. Something that is compulsory or required.