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.
In a landmark speech in 1949, he argued that once constitutional avenues existed, methods such as fasting and civil disobedience should give way to democratic processes, warning that otherwise they became the "grammar of anarchy".
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Kirchner, one of them, wanted to engage in acts of civil disobedience, such as blockades of OpenAI’s offices, to bring more attention to the cause, according to Elmore and others in the group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
But Farbiarz was not inclined to let this disobedience go unpunished.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2026
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
It took time, but Grandma got over her anger at my disobedience, and sure enough, she promised to visit Mrs. Healey on her weekly trips to North Little Rock.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
