obliging

1 of 2

adjective

oblig·ing ə-ˈblī-jiŋ

Synonyms of obliging

: willing to do favors : helpful

obligingly adverb

obligingness noun

obligingness

2 of 2

noun

oblig·ing·ness

plural -es

: the quality or state of being obliging

Synonyms of obliging

Relevance

Adjective

friendly

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Choose the Right Synonym for obliging

amiable, good-natured, obliging, complaisant mean having the desire or disposition to please.

amiable implies having qualities that make one liked and easy to deal with.

an amiable teacher not easily annoyed

good-natured implies cheerfulness or helpfulness and sometimes a willingness to be imposed upon.

a good-natured girl who was always willing to pitch in

obliging stresses a friendly readiness to be helpful.

our obliging innkeeper found us a bigger room

complaisant often implies passivity or a yielding to others because of weakness.

was too complaisant to protest a decision he thought unfair

Examples of obliging in a Sentence

Adjective An obliging passerby helped her with her packages. an obliging concierge used her pull to get us reservations at the town's hottest restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Adjective

The weather is obliging, hanging on to a breezy 73 degrees with a light overcast. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026 On a fickle morning in Miami—the kind where patches of sunshine give way to intervals of torrential rain—Learner Tien has taken shelter deep inside Hard Rock Stadium, the obliging home of the Dolphins, a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and, at the moment, the Miami Open. — Jake Nevins, Vogue, 25 June 2026 Only a young woman in a scarlet petticoat proves more obliging. — John Swansburg, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026 The obliging photographer was Ringo Starr. — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for obliging

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from present participle of oblige

First Known Use

Adjective

1632, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of obliging was in 1632

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

obliger

obliging

obligingly

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Obliging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obliging. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

obliging

adjective

oblig·ing

ə-ˈblī-jiŋ

: willing to do favors

obligingly adverb

obliging

adjective

noun

Synonyms of obliging

Examples of obliging in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on obliging

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

effulgence

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes