mandatory

mandatory [man-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin adjective

1. authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory: It is mandatory that all students take two years of math.
2. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a command.
3. Law. permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified: a mandatory clause.
4. having received a mandate, as a nation.

noun, plural man·da·to·ries.

5. mandatary.

Origin of mandatory From the Late Latin word mandātōrius, dating back to 1655–65. See mandate, -tory1 Related formsman·da·to·ri·ly, adverbnon·man·da·to·ry, adjective, noun, plural non·man·da·to·ries.un·man·da·to·ry, adjectiveSynonyms for mandatory 1. requisite, exigent. Examples from the Web for mandatories Historical Examples of mandatories

They thus had a whole week in which to frame a mandate and select their mandatories.

History of the Commune of 1871

P. Lissagary

He was compelled to admit the right of the British and French to take over the colonies as mandatories.

Woodrow Wilson and the World War

Charles Seymour

The people always reserves the right to cooperate with its mandatories, which right it practices daily in the galleries.

The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 3 (of 6)

Hippolyte A. Taine

Faced by this ominous situation, the “mandatories” took military counter-measures.

The New World of Islam

Lothrop Stoddard

In particular, the mandatories agree to guarantee “equal opportunities for the trade and commerce of other members of the League.”

The Problem of Foreign Policy

Gilbert Murray

British Dictionary definitions for mandatories mandatory adjective

1. having the nature or powers of a mandate
2. obligatory; compulsory
3. (of a state) having received a mandate over some territory

noun plural -ries

4. Also called: mandatary a person or state holding a mandate

Derived Formsmandatorily, adverb Word Origin and History for mandatories mandatory adj.

1570s, “of the nature of a mandate,” from Late Latin mandatorius “pertaining to a mandator,” from Latin mandatus, past participle of mandare (see mandate (n.)). Sense of “obligatory because commanded” is from 1818.