obey

[oh-bey]

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verb (used with object)

to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes, or instructions of: to obey one's parents.

to comply with or follow (a command, restriction, wish, instruction, etc.).

(of things) to respond conformably in action to: The car obeyed the slightest touch of the steering wheel.

to submit or conform in action to (some guiding principle, impulse, one's conscience, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to be obedient: to agree to obey.

Nearby words

Origin of obey

1250–1300; Middle English obeien < Old French obeir < Latin oboedīre, equivalent to ob- ob- + audīre to hear; -oe- for expected -ū- is unclear

Related forms

o·bey·a·ble, adjectiveo·bey·er, nouno·bey·ing·ly, adverbun·o·beyed, adjective

un·o·bey·ing, adjectivewell-o·beyed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for obey

Those advocating justice should first obey the rule of law themselves.
It’s Time to Hold Protesters Accountable|Ron Christie|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This argument is vital to a larger argument: Do we obey the rules set up to constrain government or not?
Obama’s ISIS War Is Illegal|Sen. Rand Paul|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
THE DISHONOR OF HONOR KILLINGS Imagine a young woman killed by her own relatives for failing to obey.
Lone Star Leaders||October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No soldier is obliged to obey a law contrary to the law of God.
Why Pope Francis Wants to Declare Murdered Archbishop Romero a Saint|Christopher Dickey|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I continue to live here, work here, pay the taxes and obey the law.
Men Without a Country: Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, My Father and Me|Arthur Chu|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Poor Jonas was compelled to obey, and being placed on shore, the boat again pulled away.
Ben Burton|W. H. G. Kingston
But when once your stage-manager is chosen, all the actors must make up their minds to obey him implicitly.
The Peace Egg and Other tales|Juliana Horatia Ewing
We can drift like other animals, and often do; but we can also obey our own volition.
Life and Matter|Oliver Lodge
He could not but obey the summons of her distressed beauty, perfect knight of chivalry that he was.
The King of Alsander|James Elroy Flecker
God has given human freedom to all men; He has told us what we should do, but He has left us free to obey or to disobey.
With the Children on Sunday|Sylvanus Stall

British Dictionary definitions for obey

obey

verb

to carry out (instructions or orders); comply with (demands)

to behave or act in accordance with (one's feelings, whims, etc)

Derived Formsobeyer, noun

Word Origin for obey

C13: from Old French obéir, from Latin oboedīre, from ob- to, towards + audīre to hear

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

Word Origin and History for obey

obey

late 13c., from Old French obeir "obey, be obedient, do one's duty" (12c.), from Latin obedire, oboedire "obey, be subject, serve; pay attention to, give ear," literally "listen to," from ob "to" (see ob-) + audire "listen, hear" (see audience). Same sense development is in cognate Old English hiersumnian. Related: Obeyed; obeying.

obey

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of obey

Examples from the Web for obey

obey

verb

Word Origin for obey

obey