All 4 Uses of
oblige
in
The Great Gatsby
- A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her, and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray's understudy from the "Follies.†
p. 41.3
- I'm much obliged but I couldn't take on any more work.
p. 83.3 *obliged = grateful
- "She's much obliged, I'm sure," said another friend, without gratitude.
p. 106.6
- But I wanted to leave things in order and not just trust that obliging and indifferent sea to sweep my refuse away.
p. 177.1 *obliging = helpful
Definitions:
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(1)
(oblige as in: I am obliged by law.) require (obligate) to do something
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(2)
(oblige as in: I obliged her every request.) grant a favor to someone
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(3)
(obliged as in: I'm much obliged for your kindness) grateful or indebted
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much more rarely, in classic literature you may see oblige as a synonym for ask as when Jules Verne wrote "I obliged the Professor to move his lamp over the walls of the gallery," in Journey to the Center of the Earth.