How to Use oblige in a Sentence

oblige

verb
  • She's always ready to oblige her friends.
  • They asked for food and he obliged with soup and sandwiches.
  • Her job obliges her to work overtime and on weekends.
  • The law obliges the government to release certain documents to the public.
  • Ian obliges and books the band.
    — Rob Reiner, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Of course, this unc obliged them.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
  • Again, the Longhorns did not oblige.
    — Jim Root, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Again, the Longhorns did not oblige.
    — Jim Root, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Williams obliged, but told him his tires were in bad shape.
    — Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
  • And the kitchen is happy to oblige.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Musk obliged with a wink to the camera.
    — Drew Bernstein, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
  • The only hope is that life will oblige us to change.
    — Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 12 Nov. 2025
  • The rest of us are obliged to support those on the front lines.
    — Author: Charles Wohlforth, Alaska Dispatch News, 29 Oct. 2017
  • Kailee was happy to take a short break and oblige the tiny pup.
    — Arika Herron, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2022
  • The group has asked that the post be shared, and people have obliged.
    — Noel Harris, sacbee, 30 Oct. 2017
  • Then they were steered into loans and fees they were not obliged to pay.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 June 2023
  • While some states are more than happy to oblige, these are not those states.
    — Scott Cohn, CNBC, 13 July 2024
  • And on close calls, you are obliged to choose the course that does not do any good for you.
    — Ken Pomponio, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Hermès obliged and gave the very first of the bags to Birkin.
    — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025
  • And Wolff seems happy to oblige, adding bleach to the whites.
    — Washington Post, 23 July 2021
  • But they are not obliged to serve it, and you are not obliged to bring it in the first place.
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
  • By most rules of etiquette, a guest should not feel obliged to bring a host a gift.
    — Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025
  • She is not obliged to check in with you before going away.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2025
  • The state felt obliged to make up the difference.
    — George Skelton, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • The state felt obliged to make up the difference.
    — Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
  • To the shock of no one, the entire room was happy to oblige.
    — Patrick Gomez, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
  • And for the most part, this nation has obliged Brooks and his ilk.
    — Drew Magary, GQ, 22 Feb. 2018
  • There was a time—not so very long ago—when world leaders felt obliged to lie to us.
    — Rosa Brooks, Washington Post, 15 June 2026
  • Bowler wasn’t surprised at all, and was more than happy to oblige.
    — Trevor Hass, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Mar. 2023
  • The bulk of the crowd fell quiet as those closest to the sign obliged.
    — Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 24 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oblige.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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