obedience

[oh-bee-dee-uhns]

noun

1. the state or quality of being obedient.

2. the act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance.

   Military service demands obedience from its members.

   Synonyms: deference, subservience, submission

3. a sphere of authority or jurisdiction, especially ecclesiastical.

4. Chiefly Ecclesiastical.

   1. conformity to a monastic rule or the authority of a religious superior, especially on the part of one who has vowed such conformance.

   2. the rule or authority that exacts such conformance.

obedience

/ əˈbiːdɪəns /

noun

1. the condition or quality of being obedient

2. the act or an instance of obeying; dutiful or submissive behaviour

3. the authority vested in a Church or similar body

4. the collective group of persons submitting to this authority See also passive obedience

Other Word Forms

• overobedience noun
• preobedience noun
• superobedience noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obedience¹

1150–1200; Middle English < Old French < Latin oboedientia. See obedient, -ence

Example Sentences

“The fact remains that Comey is being persecuted, not prosecuted, for putting service to the nation above obedience to a man,” the Guardian’s Lawrence Douglas wrote.

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“When he was younger, way before we knew we were doing this, he had some basic obedience training,” Fischer noted.

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Their power to keep a country functioning, he stresses, relies on the cooperation and obedience of those they govern.

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For them, success is not obedience to the system but independence from it.

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Did Nexstar and Sinclair take marching orders directly from the White House, or did their leaders just seize an opportunity to curry favor and demonstrate obedience in advance?

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Related Words

• acquiescence 
• conformity 
• deference 
• orderliness www.thesaurus.com
• reverence