disobey
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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disobeys,
present (3rd person singular)
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disobeyed,
past participle, past
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disobeying
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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disobeysimple
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disobeyssimple
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have disobeyedperfect
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has disobeyedperfect
-
am disobeyingprogressive
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are disobeyingprogressive
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is disobeyingprogressive
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have been disobeyingperfect progressive
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has been disobeyingperfect progressive
Past
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disobeyedsimple
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had disobeyedperfect
-
was disobeyingprogressive
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were disobeyingprogressive
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had been disobeyingperfect progressive
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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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.
See Examples For:
“I felt,” Whitman later wrote, “the clear and unmistakable conviction to disobey all, and pursue my own way.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 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
The law is clear that service members can disobey illegal orders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
The duty to disobey manifestly illegal orders is a cornerstone of international law, with foundations in Nazi atrocities-related post-World War II trials like Nuremberg.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2025
It didn’t occur to him to disobey the harsh note.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
Black hair disobeys temporality as surely as it does gravity ...
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2022
While each service has developed its own process, all are following existing rules for when a service member disobeys a lawful order.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
Emma disobeys orders and tends to him, despite his repeated pleas for her to stay away.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2020
“The few times she disobeys him are her only chances at adventure, filling Ana with a mix of relief, terror and pride.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2019
Call her name, I tell my mouth, but it, too, disobeys.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
"If I had disobeyed my mother and gone to New York, what might have happened to me?" asks Gláucia Fekete.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
Murphy, who sits in Massachusetts, did not merely rule against the policy; he also documented the many ways that government officials lied, stonewalled, and disobeyed court orders throughout the litigation.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026
"Irancell disobeyed the orders of the decision-making institutions in implementing the announced policies regarding the restriction of internet access in crisis situations," the agency said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
She disobeyed the order, explaining that because of what was happening in Los Angeles, “I just felt like I needed to do it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2025
He had never disobeyed the order to hide.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Back when Hal was still a novelty to the public, we see 10-year-old John disobeying his father’s TV ban to watch the hero’s first-ever interview on “60 Minutes.”
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Separating from the military takes months, and will almost certainly be complicated by a red flag in one’s record for disobeying orders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
“We believe, however, that given the high societal importance of this topic, it was crucial to conduct a study of this kind, even if it meant disobeying the rules.”
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2025
The developer filed suit against No Canyon Hills on Dec. 10, accusing group members of sneaking onto the property and secretly installing cameras and other surveillance equipment, disobeying posted “No Trespassing” signs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
And probably he should apologize to his parents for disobeying, and coming to Jen’s house in the first place.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
