disobedience
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of disobedience
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French desobedience, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + obedience obedience
Explanation
Disobedience means not following rules or instructions given to you by an authority figure. The disobedience of the kids at summer camp might drive their counselor batty. Ordinary disobedience includes things like your dog chasing your cat even after you tell her not to, or a party guest refusing to hand over a gift to the birthday boy despite being instructed to do it. Civil disobedience is a special type of defiance: it's refusing to follow the laws or demands of a governing power that you disagree with. During the Civil Rights Movement, protesters used civil disobedience (including sit-ins and boycotts) to protest segregation.
Vocabulary lists containing disobedience
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
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Selection Vocabulary 5, Unit 4
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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.
“It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right,” he wrote External link in Resistance to Civil Government, the essay known as Civil Disobedience.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
Following World War II, Randolph co-founded the League for Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation, which encouraged men to refuse to register or serve in the armed forces.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025
So Harper and Jack started what they half-jokingly called the “Civil Disobedience Club.”
From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025
One soldier who later defected to join the Civil Disobedience Movement confirms this.
From BBC • Feb. 1, 2022
Chris’s seemingly anomalous political positions were perhaps best summed up by Thoreau’s declaration in “Civil Disobedience": "I heartily accept the motto—‘That government is best which governs least.’
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
