obedience

B2 Topic:Psychology & Behavior

US /oʊˈbidiəns/ UK /ə(ʊ)ˈbiːdɪəns/ See IPA manual

Freq #12973

Meanings

1

noun
The act of doing what you are told to do by someone in authority.

The soldiers were trained in strict obedience to orders.
2

noun
The quality of being willing to obey.

The dog was rewarded for its obedience.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of doing what you... obeisance

2 noun · the quality of being... respect

More hearsomenesssubmission

Opposites

control defiance disobedience dominance rebellion violation

Word family

Forms obediences

Derived forms misobediencenonobedienceoverobediencesuperobedienceunobedience

Related forms obedient obeisance obey

Etymology

From Middle English obedience, from Anglo-Norman obedience, from Old French obedience (modern French obédience), from Latin oboedientia. Displaced native Old English hīersumnes (compare modern English hearsomeness). Cognate with obeisance.

obedience Middle English oboedientia Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Psychology & Behavior Actions & Processes

External links

# obedience

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /oʊˈbidiəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ə(ʊ)ˈbiːdɪəns/
**Frequency rank:** 12973

## Meanings
1. The act of doing what you are told to do by someone in authority.
2. The quality of being willing to obey.

## Examples
- The soldiers were trained in strict obedience to orders.
- The dog was rewarded for its obedience.

## Synonyms
- hearsomeness
- submission

## Antonyms
- control
- defiance
- disobedience
- dominance
- rebellion
- violation

## Derived Forms
- misobedience
- nonobedience
- overobedience
- superobedience
- unobedience

## Related Forms
- obedient
- obeisance
- obey

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: obedience
- Root: oboedientia

## Etymology
From Middle English obedience, from Anglo-Norman obedience, from Old French obedience (modern French obédience), from Latin oboedientia. Displaced native Old English hīersumnes (compare modern English hearsomeness). Cognate with obeisance.

## AI Etymology
Obedience comes from Middle English obedience, from Anglo-Norman obedience, from Old French obedience (modern French obédience), from Latin oboedientia. Displaced native Old English hīersumnes (compare modern English hearsomeness). Cognate with obeisance. Modern senses include the act of doing what you are told to do by someone in authority and the quality of being willing to obey. The wider word family includes derivatives such as misobedience, nonobedience, overobedience, superobedience, and unobedience and related forms such as obedient, obeisance, and obey.

## Topics
- Psychology & Behavior
- Actions & Processes

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