Meaning & use
mandatory
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Required by a rule or law, so that you must do it and cannot choose otherwise.
Grammar: Either before a noun or after be: mandatory training, attendance is mandatory.
Patterns
- mandatory for someone
- it is mandatory to do something
Seat belts are mandatory for all passengers.
Attendance at the safety briefing is mandatory.
It is mandatory to show your passport at the border.
adjectivebefore a nounlegal
Fixed by law as a set penalty that a judge cannot reduce.
Grammar: Used with sentence, penalty or minimum: a mandatory sentence.
Patterns
- a mandatory sentence
The offense carries a mandatory prison sentence.
Judges criticized the mandatory minimum for drug crimes.
A mandatory fine applies to anyone caught speeding here.
Common combinations
- mandatory training
- All staff must complete mandatory training each year.
- mandatory attendance
- Mandatory attendance applies to every lecture.
- mandatory sentence
- The law set a mandatory sentence of ten years.
- mandatory retirement
- The airline imposes mandatory retirement at sixty-five.
- made mandatory
- The city made helmets mandatory for cyclists.
- mandatory for
- A visa is mandatory for visitors from some countries.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compulsory
- Compulsory is very close and common in British English for school and military requirements, while mandatory often suggests a rule or law.
- obligatory
- Obligatory can mean required by a duty or custom, not only by official rule.
- required
- Required is plain and general, and may arise from need rather than an official rule.
- binding
- Binding describes agreements or decisions that must legally be followed, rather than activities people must do.
Opposites
Word family
- mandate noun
- an official order or authority to act
- mandate verb
- to require something officially
- mandatorily adverb
- in a way that is required by rule
- mandated adjective
- required by law or authority
Commonly confused: mandatory or mandatary?
mandatory vs mandatary
A mandatary is a person given authority to act for another, which is a rare legal noun and not a synonym of mandatory.
Practice
Wearing a helmet is ___ for all riders on this track. Which word fits best?
Choose one answer.
Mandatory means required by a rule, which matches the sentence. Voluntary and optional mean the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mandatory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.