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• a  morally or legally constraining or binding
  attendance is obligatory
  an obligatory contribution
• s  required by obligation or compulsion or convention
  he made all the obligatory apologies

• After giving me the obligatory hazing about whether I'm old enough to drink, he pours me a glass.
• When someone of Grahams stature dies, the rush to eulogize often feels forced and the words themselves seem obligatory.
• Liu does pay obligatory tribute to his nation, but he revels in the limelight, belting out karaoke songs on Chinese TV and even engaging in flirty banter with pretty anchors on air.

• optional

News & Articles

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• GOLF: Weather watch on as U.S. Open begins at Merion
  HAVERFORD - Following a three-plus decade hiatus and seven years of intense planning, the USGA's grand experiment commences today at Merion Golf Club - assuming Mother Nature cooperates. Ah, what would the 113th U.S. Open be without the obligatory weather concerns? Yes, the famed 100-year-old East Course nestled amid the leafy Philadelphia suburbs has taken on a lot of rain already - 6½ inches ...
  June 13, 2013 - The Mercury
• The 'Power Index' Measures The 10 Most Powerful Militaries In The World
  Obligatory Marine Corps veteran disclaimer — there’s a lot more to military prowess than firepower. There’s no statistic for leadership, no metric for the stuff they pump into you at Parris Island .
  June 12, 2013 - Business Insider
• Love For Sale
  It's beginning to look as if this season of The Bachelorette might actually succeed in out-irritating all the others. But before we blame the obligatory harness-required sports, or the...
  June 12, 2013 - E! Online

Quotes

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• Osama bin Laden in Forbes
  The storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July "demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims ...... and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory,"...
• Cadel Evans in Sydney Morning Herald
  I didn't ask [them to come],Evans said. "I just said to the guys that I am having a training camp. It was not obligatory for everyone to come. But everyone except Leif [and McEwen] came, which I understand. Some raced in the Tour of...
• Viktor Yushchenko in Reuters South Africa
  I stress one more time that it is obligatory to implement the decree of Ukraine's president. Any refusal to implement it will result in criminal proceedings,Yushchenko told a meeting of Ukraine's Security Council, where he sat next to...