disobey
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have disobeyedperfect
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has disobeyedperfect 3rd person singular
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is disobeyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been disobeyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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disobeyingparticiple
-
am disobeyingprogressive 1st person singular
-
have been disobeyingperfect progressive
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are disobeyingprogressive
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disobeyssingular 3rd person
Past
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had disobeyedperfect
-
were disobeyingprogressive plural
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had been disobeyingperfect progressive
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was disobeyingprogressive singular
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disobeyedsimple
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disobeyedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of disobey
1350–1400; Middle English disobeien < Old French desobeir, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + obeir to obey
Explanation
When you don't follow the rules — especially when they come from a teacher, parent, boss or other authority figure — you disobey. A first-grader disobeys his teacher when he can't help running in the halls of the school, and a dog will disobey your shouted commands if you haven't trained her very well. When you obey someone's rules, you follow them strictly. The verb disobey combines the Latin obedire, "serve, pay attention to, or listen," with dis, which here means "not." The original Latin version of disobey, inobedire, used in rather than dis.
Vocabulary lists containing disobey
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"How to Train a Guide Dog" and "The Wonder Dog"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The constitutional protections in our military structures depend on the idea that there are humans who would, we hope, disobey illegal orders. With fully autonomous weapons we don’t necessarily have those protections.”
From Salon • Feb. 26, 2026
“You can’t put on the screen that it’s right for a young girl to disobey her father,” Nava recalled Quintanilla saying.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 13, 2025
If it is unclear whether an order is illegal, the law’s message is simple: Obey and you are likely protected; disobey and you shoulder the risk.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
It’s easy for anyone to repeat the mantra “you have a duty to disobey unlawful orders”; it’s hard for me, you, and your shipmates to know and decide when and how to do that.
From Slate • Nov. 24, 2025
“So remember what I told you. People’s feelings are precious. And when you disobey me in Public, everybody gets the wrong impression.”
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
