mandatory

[man-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

adjective

1. authoritatively ordered; obligatory; compulsory.

   It is mandatory that all students take two years of math.

   Synonyms: exigent, requisite

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

mandatories 

1. mandatary.

mandatory

/ ˈmændətərɪ, -trɪ /

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

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

Other Word Forms

• mandatorily adverb
• nonmandatory adjective
• unmandatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mandatory¹

From the Late Latin word mandātōrius, dating back to 1655–65. See mandate, -tory ¹

Example Sentences

But by the 1970s, as the canine rabies vaccine became widely available and increasingly mandatory, that scene and all its implications slipped toward the anachronistic.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Patton also said that in the USA prosecutors can stack different charges against a defendant based on the same conduct, and each individual charge can carry its own mandatory minimum sentence.

From BBC

If Kildunne, who turned 26 on Monday, comes through her mandatory minimum 12-day stand-down period without showing further concussion symptoms, she will be fit for a potential semi-final on Saturday, 20 September.

From BBC

Tapper pointed out that no other conservative state, even ones that have gone on similar parental rights crusades in recent years, has ended mandatory vaccinations for public school children.

From Salon

The England full-back was forced off in the second half of England's Pool A win on Saturday and faces a mandatory minimum 12-day stand-down period after showing concussion symptoms.

From BBC

Related Words

• binding 
• compulsory 
• de rigueur 
• essential 
• forced 
• imperative 
• indispensable 
• involuntary 
• obligatory