Grammar Tips & Articles »

Obligated vs. Obliged

This Grammar.com article is about Obligated vs. Obliged — enjoy your reading!


1:27 min read
50,867 Views
  Marius Alza  —  Grammar Tips
Font size:

Obliged" is an old word in the English vocabulary, originating from the verb "to oblige", used to express the past tense or past participle of the initial action of forcing somebody to do something. "Obligated", on the other hand, is built as a regular past-tense/past participle form for the verb "to obligate", which is a modern version that appeared later to express the same meaning.

So which version is more commonly used nowadays? Are they both correct? What should you know before using "obligated" and "obliged" correctly in a sentence, to make sure you are not wrong?

"Obligated" vs. "Obliged"

Even though the popularity of using "obligated" has been gradually growing during the last years, especially in the US, "obliged" is still used more often in both British and American English. Even so, the fact that they mean the same is also real and will, therefore, allow you to use them in any context.

When do we use "obligated"?

You can use it whenever you wish to express the meaning of the verb "to obligate", "to force", in the past tense or in its participle form:

Example: The law obligated the food chain to shut down their activity. - expressing the action of obligating someone to do something.

When do we use "obliged"?

Also used for the same purpose as "obligated", you can use "obliged" in all contexts mentioned above, with no restriction. In addition, "obliged" also carries a formal, old-fashioned signification, referring to feeling pleased, sincerely thankful for something.

Example: Thank you so much for your help, I feel much obliged.

Conclusion

Both versions, "obligated" and "obliged", are correct at the present moment. There is no doubt, anyway, that "obliged" is still much preferred and more often used in official communications.

Obligated vs. Obliged

Rate this article:

Have a discussion about this article with the community:

1 Comment
  • Riken Nakawalsky
    Riken Nakawalsky
    If the difference relates to "obligated" being more of a legal term, then why do many of the "right to silence" warnings use the term "obliged" instead of obligated?
    LikeReply 25 years ago

Citation

Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Obligated vs. Obliged." Grammar.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Dec. 2024. <https://www.grammar.com/obligated_vs._obliged>.

Free, no signup required:

Add to Chrome

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free, no signup required:

Add to Firefox

Check your text and writing for style, spelling and grammar problems everywhere on the web!

Free Writing Tool:

Instant
Grammar Checker

Improve your grammar, vocabulary, style, and writing — all for FREE!


Quiz

Are you a grammar master?

»
Identify the sentence with correct use of the reflexive pronoun:
A We decorated the house for our.
B They made the decision by they.
C She wrote a letter to her.
D He bought a gift for himself.

Improve your writing now:

Download Grammar eBooks

It’s now more important than ever to develop a powerful writing style. After all, most communication takes place in reports, emails, and instant messages.