If an action or procedure is mandatory, people have to do it, because it is a rule or a law.
[formal]
...the mandatory retirement age of 65.
Attendance is mandatory.
Synonyms: compulsory, required, binding, obligatory More Synonyms of mandatory
2. adjective
If a crime carries a mandatory punishment, that punishment is fixed by law for all cases, in contrast to crimes for which the judge or magistrate has to decide the punishment for each particular case.
[formal]
...the mandatory life sentence for murder.
...the four-year ban which is mandatory.
mandatory in British English
(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
nounWord forms: plural-ries
4. Also called: mandatary
a person or state holding a mandate
Derived forms
mandatorily (ˈmandatorily)
adverb
mandatory in American English
(ˈmændəˌtɔri)
adjective
1.
of, having the nature of, or containing a mandate
2.
authoritatively commanded or required; obligatory
3.
having received a mandate over some territory
nounWord forms: pluralˈmandaˌtories
4.
a country assigned to administer a mandate
Also ˈmandaˌtary (ˈmændəˌtɛri)
Derived forms
mandatorily (ˈmandaˌtorily)
adverb
Word origin
LL mandatorius
Examples of 'mandatory' in a sentence
mandatory
The case for mandatory reporting seems unanswerable.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The government should make it mandatory for internet service providers to block sites that refuse to check the ages of their users.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
To give birds a better chance, make it mandatory for cats to be fitted with a collar with small bells.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Government action, beginning with an inquiry into football's dirty secret amid further movement on mandatory reporting is of paramount importance.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The mandatory sentence for murder is life imprisonment.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The mandatory retirement age is already being enforced more strictly by companies.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Identity chipping is to become mandatory within the next two years.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
At present only murder is punished with a mandatory life sentence.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
None of these has a mandatory retirement age.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
Health warnings on alcohol could become mandatory under new government proposals.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
All those accused were found guilty of treason and the mandatory death sentence was given.
Jonathan Gregson BLOOD AGAINST THE SNOWS: The Tragic Story of Nepal's Royal Dynasty (2002)
It is not just their steadily increasing cost that makes it mandatory for them to be managed for contribution and performance.
Peter F. Drucker MANAGEMENT: task, responsibilities, practices (1974)
The minister asserted that the mandatory retirement policy was a "secular" matter that was not influenced by any religious considerations.
Christianity Today (2000)
He is the mandatory contender and once he is medically cleared, we will address it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If he was a commercial pilot, he would have been forced into mandatory retirement by now.
The Sun (2015)
There is no mandatory retirement age and more women are now employed, often into their sixties.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
mandatory
British English: mandatory ADJECTIVE
If an action or procedure is mandatory, people have to do it, because it is a rule or a law.
The mandatory retirement age has been raised.
American English: mandatory
Brazilian Portuguese: obrigatório
Chinese: 法定的强制性的
European Spanish: obligatorio
French: obligatoire
German: obligatorisch
Italian: obbligatorio
Japanese: 義務的な
Korean: 의무적인
European Portuguese: obrigatório
Latin American Spanish: obligatorio
Definition of 'mandatory'
Chinese translation of 'mandatory'
mandatory
(ˈmændətərɪ)
adj
(= obligatory) 强(強)制的 (qiángzhì de)
(adjective)
Definition
obligatory
Attendance is mandatory.
Synonyms
compulsory
compulsory military conscription
required
This book is required reading.
binding
a legally binding commitment
obligatory
Third-party insurance is obligatory when driving in Italy.
requisite
She filled in the requisite paperwork.
Opposites
voluntary
,
unnecessary
,
optional
,
discretionary
,
nonbinding
,
noncompulsory
,
nonobligatory
Additional synonyms
in the sense of binding
Definition
imposing an obligation or duty
a legally binding commitment
Synonyms
compulsory,
necessary,
mandatory,
imperative,
obligatory,
conclusive,
irrevocable,
unalterable,
indissoluble
in the sense of obligatory
Definition
required or compulsory because of custom or law
Third-party insurance is obligatory when driving in Italy.