mandatory

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adjective

Imposed on one by authority, command, or convention: compulsory, imperative, necessary, obligatory, required, requisite. See obligation.

adj

Definition: required, necessary
Antonyms: optional, unnecessary, voluntary

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Peremptory; obligatory; required; that which must be subscribed to or obeyed.

Mandatory statutes are those that require, as opposed to permit, a particular course of action. Their language is characterized by such directive terms as "shall" as opposed to "may." A mandatory provision is one that must be observed, whereas a directory provision is optional.

An example of a mandatory provision is a law that provides that an election judge must endorse his or her initials on a ballot.

IN BRIEF: Ordered by someone in power.

It was mandatory that each section of the test be completed for the examination to count.

Tutor's tip: The newly-elected "mandatary" (recipient of special authority) made Monday meetings "mandatory" (compulsory).

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Required by law.

• m. continuing education — participation in a continuing education program is a prerequisite for continued registration in some countries.

See words rhyming with "mandatory."

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - mandat-, bydende, påbudt
n. - = mandatary (mandatar, mandatarmagt)

Nederlands (Dutch)
verplicht, betreffende een mandaat, persoon die/land dat een mandaat heeft

Français (French)
adj. - obligatoire, de rigueur
n. - obligation

Deutsch (German)
adj. - Pflicht..., obligatorisch, vorgeschrieben, (Pol.) Mandat(smacht)
n. - (Rechtsw.) Mandatar, Bevollmächtigter

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - επιτακτικός, αναγκαστικός, υποχρεωτικός

Italiano (Italian)
obbligatorio, mandatario

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - obrigatório

Русский (Russian)
держатель мандата, мандатный, обязательный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - obligatorio, preceptivo, de rigor
n. - orden, precepto

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - mandat-, föreskriven, befallande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
命令的, 托管的, 强制的, 受托者, 代理者

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 命令的, 託管的, 強制的
n. - 受託者, 代理者

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 강제의, 위임된, 명령의
n. - 위임자, 통치국

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 命令の, 委任された, 強制的な, 義務的な
n. - 受任者

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) إجباري, إلزامي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮חובה, נחוץ, הכרחי, מנדטורי‬
n. - ‮ארץ בשלטון מנדטורי (מונח היסטורי), מיופה-כוח (מיושן)‬

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