obedience

noun

obe·​di·​ence ō-ˈbē-dē-ən(t)s 

ə-

1

a

: an act or instance of obeying

b

: the quality or state of being obedient

Children should learn obedience and respect for authority.

2

: a sphere of jurisdiction

landowners within the king's obedience

especially : an ecclesiastical or sometimes secular dominion

under the obedience of the Bishop of Rome

Synonyms

• compliance
• conformity
• submission
• subordination

Examples of obedience in a Sentence

the drill sergeant demanded complete and unquestioning obedience from the recruits

the cowardly obedience with which the dictator's henchmen followed his every command

Recent Examples on the Web

By the beginning of 1956, some American communists openly blamed the poor state of their party on Moscow’s ideological inflexibility—and their own leaders’ slavish obedience to Soviet officials. —Jeremy Friedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 July 2024

Some of the girls stayed to become nuns themselves, from personal choice or out of obedience to their parents. —Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 30 July 2024

Xi’s assertive rhetoric, combined with his demand for absolute obedience, has produced an echo chamber in Beijing. —Tong Zhao, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2023

Rather than respect or obedience, Doom’s Iron Man era was shaped by a desire to help protect the world from people like himself whose violent compulsions eclipsed their potential to do good things. —Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 1 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin oboedientia "act of obeying" (Medieval Latin also, "sphere of jurisdiction"), noun derivative of oboedient-, oboedient obedient

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing obedience

• in obedience

Kids Definition

obedience

noun

obe·​di·​ence ō-ˈbēd-ē-ən(t)s 

ə-

1

: an act or instance of obeying

2

: the quality or state of being obedient