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View synonyms for

obey

[ oh-bey ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of:

    to obey one's parents.

  2. to comply with or follow (a command, restriction, wish, instruction, etc.).
  3. (of things) to respond conformably in action to:

    The car obeyed the slightest touch of the steering wheel.

  4. to submit or conform in action to (some guiding principle, impulse, one's conscience, etc.).


verb (used without object)

  1. to be obedient:

    to agree to obey.

obey

/ əˈɪ /

verb

  1. to carry out (instructions or orders); comply with (demands)
  2. to behave or act in accordance with (one's feelings, whims, etc)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ·a· adjective
  • ·İ noun
  • ·iԲ· adverb
  • ܲo· adjective
  • ܲo·iԲ adjective
  • ɱ-· adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of obey1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English obeien, from Old French obeir, from Latin DzDZī, equivalent to ob- ob- + ܻī “to hear”; -oe- for expected -ū- is unclear
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Word History and Origins

Origin of obey1

C13: from Old French Dzé, from Latin DzDZī, from ob- to, towards + ܻī to hear
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And according to Pew, 78% of Americans believe that the administration must obey the rulings of the courts.

From

Once the fighting stops, the thinking goes, both soldiers and civilians will remember whether those on the other side obeyed international law, or whether they committed atrocities.

From

"To see these guys not obey orders - and do what they needed to save their platoon was interesting to me," he says, talking about the soldiers' evacuation process.

From

Subjects meant to obey and praise their leader but never to challenge them.

From

Popes wield such power that they can speak ex cathedra — literally, from the papal throne — to make infallible pronouncements on morality that the faithful must obey.

From

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