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.
“Particularly when your disobedience threatens to upend how the business makes money. In Hollywood you can be an addict, be a philanderer, be outspoken. But don’t disrupt the cash flow.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Throughout the legal battle, lawyers for the group's co-founder Huda Ammori have said it is a legitimate protest group involved in civil disobedience.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
But Thoreau’s show of civil disobedience has resounded down the ages, creating a political legacy claimed by liberals and conservatives, libertarians and Marxists External link.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 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
But for the Director, even the slightest disobedience endangers his vision of his absolute authority in here.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
