disobey

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/ UK /ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to fail or refuse to comply with a command or rule

Soldiers who disobey a direct order face a court martial.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to fail or refuse to comply... defy flout contravene transgress violate resist rebel

Opposites

obey comply heed follow observe

Word family

Derived forms disobedient disobedience

Related forms obey obedient audience audible

Etymology

From Old French desobeir, from des- ('not') + obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear').

desobeir Old French oboedire Latin audire Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# disobey

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/

## Meanings
1. to fail or refuse to comply with a command or rule

## Examples
- Soldiers who disobey a direct order face a court martial.

## Synonyms
- defy
- flout
- contravene
- transgress
- violate
- resist
- rebel

## Antonyms
- obey
- comply
- heed
- follow
- observe

## Derived Forms
- disobedient
- disobedience

## Related Forms
- obey
- obedient
- audience
- audible

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

## Etymology
From Old French desobeir, from des- ('not') + obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear').

## AI Etymology
Disobey is from Old French desobeir, from des- ('not') + obeir ('to obey'), from Latin oboedire ('to obey'), from ob- ('to') + audire ('to hear'). The ancestry passes through Old French desobeir, Latin oboedire, and Latin audire. In present use as a verb, it means "to fail or refuse to comply with a command or rule", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include obey, obedient, audience, and audible; derived forms include disobedient and disobedience. Its contrast set includes obey, comply, heed, and follow, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

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

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