browse words by letter
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
obliging |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Oblige \O*blige"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Obliged}; p. pr & vb n. {Obliging}.] [OF. obligier, F. obliger, L. obligare; ob (see {Ob-}) + ligare to bind. See {Ligament}, and cf {Obligate}.] 1. To attach, as by a bond. [Obs.] He had obliged all the senators and magistrates firmly to himself. --Bacon. 2. To constrain by physical, moral, or legal force; to put under obligation to do or forbear something The obliging power of the law is neither founded in nor to be measured by the rewards and punishments annexed to it --South. Religion obliges men to the practice of those virtues which conduce to the preservation of our health. --Tillotson. 3. To bind by some favor rendered; to place under a debt; hence to do a favor to to please; to gratify; to accommodate. Thus man, by his own strength, to heaven would soar, And would not be obliged to God for more --Dryden. The gates before it are brass, and the whole much obliged to Pope Urban VIII. --Evelyn. I shall be more obliged to you than I can express. --Mrs. E. Montagu. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Obliging \O*bli"ging\, a. Putting under obligation; disposed to oblige or do favors; hence helpful; civil; kind Mons.Strozzi has many curiosities, and is very obliging to a stranger who desires the sight of them --Addison. Syn: Civil; complaisant; courteous; kind -- {Obliging}, {Kind}, {Complaisant}. Usage: One is kind who desires to see others happy; one is complaisant who endeavors to make them so in social intercourse by attentions calculated to please; one who is obliging performs some actual service, or has the disposition to do so -- {O*bli"ging*ly}. adv -- {O*bli"ging*ness}, n. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: obliging adj 1: happy to comply [syn: {complying}, {yielding}] 2: showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others "to close one's eyes like a complaisant husband whose wife has taken a lover"; "the obliging waiter was in no hurry for us to leave" [syn: {complaisant}]
more about obliging