disobedient

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˌdɪsəˈbidiənt/ UK /ˌdɪsəˈbiːdiənt/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
failing or refusing to obey rules or authority

The disobedient pupil ignored every instruction the teacher gave.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · failing or refusing to obey... insubordinate defiant unruly rebellious wayward recalcitrant contrary

Opposites

obedient compliant dutiful submissive docile

Word family

Derived forms disobediently

Related forms disobey obedient obey audience

Etymology

From dis- ('not') + obedient; obedient from Old French obedient, from Latin oboediens, present participle of oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear').

oboedire Latin audire Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# disobedient

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌdɪsəˈbidiənt
**IPA (UK):** ˌdɪsəˈbiːdiənt

## Meanings
1. failing or refusing to obey rules or authority

## Examples
- The disobedient pupil ignored every instruction the teacher gave.

## Synonyms
- insubordinate
- defiant
- unruly
- rebellious
- wayward
- recalcitrant
- contrary

## Antonyms
- obedient
- compliant
- dutiful
- submissive
- docile

## Derived Forms
- disobediently

## Related Forms
- disobey
- obedient
- obey
- audience

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: oboedire
- Root: audire

## Etymology
From dis- ('not') + obedient; obedient from Old French obedient, from Latin oboediens, present participle of oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear').

## AI Etymology
Disobedient is from dis- ('not') + obedient; obedient from Old French obedient, from Latin oboediens, present participle of oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear'). The ancestry passes through Latin oboedire and Latin audire. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as an adjective, it means "failing or refusing to obey rules or authority", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include disobey, obedient, obey, and audience; derived forms include disobediently.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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disobedient

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