obbligato

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌɒblɪˈɡɑːtəʊ/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(ob′li gä′tō; It. ôb′blē gä′tô)

Inflections of 'obbligato' (n):
obbligatos
npl
obbligati
npl

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ob•bli•ga•to  (ob′li gä′tō; It. ôb′blē gä′tô),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -tos, -ti (-tē).USA pronunciation [Music.]
adj. 
  1. Music and Dance(used as a musical direction) obligatory or indispensable;
    so important that it cannot be omitted.

n. 
  1. Music and Dancean obbligato part or accompaniment.
  2. Music and Dancea continuing or persistent subordinate or background motif.
  3. Music and Dancea subordinate part of a solo.
Also, obligato. 
  • Latin obligātus; see obligate
  • Italian: bound, obliged
  • 1715–25

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
obbligato, obligato /ˌɒblɪˈɡɑːtəʊ/ adj
  1. not to be omitted in performance
 n ( pl -tos, -ti /-tiː/)
  1. an essential part in a score: with oboe obbligato

See also ad-libEtymology: 18th Century: from Italian, from obbligare to oblige
'obbligato' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
obligato - obb.

Forum discussions with the word(s) "obbligato" in the title:


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