Mandatory means ordered by rule or law, with no opting out. Mandatory training, a mandatory sentence, mandatory reporting.
It is the strong word: mandatory means required, and voluntary and discretionary are the alternatives. A mandatory sentence is one a judge must impose regardless of circumstances, which is why they are controversial. Mandatory is stressed on the first syllable in Britain — MAN-datory. Note mandate, both the noun and the verb; and that compulsory is the everyday British equivalent and means exactly the same thing.
1adjectivemandatoryOrdered by rule or law, with no opting out.
“Wearing a helmet is mandatory on the building site.”
synonyms: compulsory, required
mandatory is a quality of being required.
Also accepted in games: compulsory, required
Latin mandatorius comes from mandare, to command — manus, hand, plus dare, to give, meaning to give into somebody's hand. A mandate is something handed over as an instruction.
Proto-Indo-European
*deh₃-
Latin
mandatorius — of or belonging to a mandator
English, today
mandatory
Built from
From Latin mandatorius (“of or belonging to a mandator”), from mandātor (“one who commands”), equivalent to mandate + ory; see mandate.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA