obey
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.).
to be obedient: to agree to obey.
Origin of obey
1Other words from obey
- o·bey·a·ble, adjective
- o·bey·er, noun
- o·bey·ing·ly, adverb
- un·o·beyed, adjective
- un·o·bey·ing, adjective
- well-o·beyed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use obey in a sentence
The school said it immediately took action to have those families not obeying the rules leave or pay back tuition.
Why did education leaders trash a school full of music, dance and art? | Jay Mathews | January 30, 2021 | Washington PostThey kicked him out because he refused to obey them, and the streets of Mexico City became his home for three weeks.
Casa Frida becomes second home for Mexico City’s LGBTQ community | Yariel Valdés González | January 22, 2021 | Washington BladeThere’s a lot of things in between, and it does a disservice to understanding humans to say we have to obey these very narrow rules.
Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors | Claudia Dreifus | December 14, 2020 | Quanta MagazineThe statement was so bizarre that Allison obeyed without thinking, briefly pulling her mask below her chin.
‘Take off your mask’: Boorish customers have found a way to make sexual harassment even more of a hazard | Monica Hesse | December 10, 2020 | Washington PostYet the algorithms Nelson devises obey real-world constraints — chief among them the fact that computers cannot store unlimited amounts of data.
But for Reynolds and Robbins, obeying their consciences came with a price tag.
Weird as the theory is, invoking “quantum physics” is not an escape clause from obeying physical laws.
Dear NASA: Fuel-Free Rocket Thruster Is Literally Too Good to Be True | Matthew R. Francis | August 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRather than helplessly obeying the dictates of management, workers are obliged to do what union bosses tell them.
But Tanaka has been a little slow in obeying this particular law.
Masahiro Tanaka Is the Yankees' $155M Lethal Weapon and Strikeout Machine | Allen Barra | May 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn an industry dominated by hits like ‘Exploited Teen,’ raising the minimum age would weed out the rule-obeying responsible.
Barely Legal, Sometimes Mature: Should Porn Raise the Minimum Age to 21? | Aurora Snow | October 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTOne of the simplest of these childish tricks is the invention of an excuse for not instantly obeying a command, as "Come here!"
Children's Ways | James SullyThe obeying of several hints, of secret impulses, argues great wisdom.
Instead of obeying, the officers and men held a mass meeting to draft their remonstrance to the Directory.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonThen, learning from the uproar at the gate that the guards were obeying his instructions literally, he went on at an easier pace.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy"No apology is needed, mon ami," Paul exclaimed quickly, well aware that the detective was merely obeying instructions.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
British Dictionary definitions for obey
/ (əˈbeɪ) /
to carry out (instructions or orders); comply with (demands)
to behave or act in accordance with (one's feelings, whims, etc)
Origin of obey
1Derived forms of obey
- obeyer, noun
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
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