SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
mandatory
adjective
Required by a rule, instruction, or authority.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Required by authority
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topMandatory identifies an external requirement. Enforced describes actual action to secure compliance; a requirement may remain mandatory even when it is not enforced.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See mandatory in use
The registration form explained which fields were mandatory.
Compliance with the weighing rule was mandatory for officials, so individual inspectors could not simply choose a different standard.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license