OBEY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does obey mean? 

• OBEY (verb)
  The verb OBEY has 1 sense:

1. be obedient to

  Familiarity information: OBEY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OBEY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they obey    ... he / she / it obeys   
Past simple: obeyed   
Past participle: obeyed   
-ing form: obeying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be obedient to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "obey" is one way to...):

adapt; adjust; conform (adapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "obey"):

abide by; comply; follow (act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes)

take orders (receive and be expected to follow directions or commands)

heed; listen; mind (pay close attention to; give heed to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

disobey (refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient)

Derivation:

obedience (the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person)

obedience (the trait of being willing to obey)

obedient (dutifully complying with the commands or instructions of those in authority)

obeisance (the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person)

 Context examples 

“I beg your pardon. But it is my service to obey.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And as never before, he was ready to obey.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He seems to have power at these particular moments to simply will, and her thoughts obey him.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I obeyed, and a minute or two later they stood before him.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The necessity must be obeyed, and further apology would be absurd.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The code he learned was to obey the strong and to oppress the weak.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Jo obeyed, but as her hand went softly to and fro across Beth's hot forehead and wet eyelids, her heart was very full and she longed to speak.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Four or five of them obeyed at once, two remaining on the road with the formidable beggar.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Be happy, my friend; and if you obey me in this one request, remain satisfied that nothing on earth will have the power to interrupt my tranquillity.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

I will come every evening to see if you have obeyed my order.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)