Synonyms

disobedience

American

[dis-uh-bee-dee-uhns] / ˌdɪs əˈbi di əns /

noun

lack of obedience or refusal to comply; disregard or transgression.

disobedience British

/ ˌdɪsəˈbiːdɪəns /

noun

lack of obedience

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of disobedience

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French desobedience, equivalent to des- dis- ¹ + obedience obedience

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.

That summer, 1960, Jackson came home and led a sit-in at the library, his arrest a first taste of civil disobedience.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

Other groups are providing nonviolent civil disobedience training, for example, which organizers describe as calling attention to the injustice of the current policy.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2026

Most of those who attended these protests were peaceful—Operation Rescue instructed recruits on what it called nonviolent civil disobedience.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2026

Above all, the album brings to light, perhaps better than any other source, how women used the civil disobedience movement for their empowerment.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

But the seriousness of Ramohanoe’s disobedience was too strong.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023