obedience
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o·be·di·ence
(ō-bē′dē-əns)n.
1.
a. The quality or condition of being obedient.
b. The act of obeying.
2.
a. A sphere of ecclesiastical authority.
b. A group of people under such authority.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
obedience
(əˈbiːdɪəns)n
1. the condition or quality of being obedient
2. the act or an instance of obeying; dutiful or submissive behaviour
3. (Ecclesiastical Terms) the authority vested in a Church or similar body
4. (Ecclesiastical Terms) the collective group of persons submitting to this authority. See also passive obedience
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
o•be•di•ence
(oʊˈbi di əns)n.
1. the state or quality of being obedient.
2. the act or practice of obeying.
3. a sphere of ecclesiastical or secular authority or jurisdiction.
[1150–1200; Middle English < Old French < Latin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
obedience
The following words can all be used to describe someone who does what they are told and can be controlled easily:
acquiescent | compliant | docile | obedient | servile |
slavish | submissive | subservient | tame |
1. indicating approval
Obedient usually shows approval, especially when you are talking about children or people who are under strict authority.
She was, on the whole, an obedient little girl.
Everyone ought to do military training. It would do them good and make them obedient.
Acquiescent, compliant, docile and submissive often show approval but are also sometimes used to indicate mild disapproval.
The soldiers were grateful and docile, and did not pester her.
...men who preferred their women to be submissive.
Acquiescent and compliant are formal words.
Some children seem to be totally acquiescent, always agreeing with the adult's view.
She was fed up with being eternally compliant.
2. indicating disapproval
Subservient and tame show mild disapproval.
His gesture of respect seemed old-fashioned and subservient.
I was too dull and ordinary a fellow, too tame for you.
Servile and slavish show strong disapproval.
For a student job he waited at table, but was demoted to washing up because his manner was not sufficiently servile.
...a slavish conformity to the styles of their classmates.
3. animals
He sometimes let her play with his tame gazelle.
Docile and obedient are also used to describe animals. When used like this, they show approval.
We call them wild horses, but they are docile, gentle creatures.
You cannot begin show jumping until your horse is obedient and supple.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | obedience - the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person submission, compliance - the act of submitting; usually surrendering power to another truckling - the act of obeying meanly (especially obeying in a humble manner or for unworthy reasons) disobedience, noncompliance - the failure to obey |
2. | obedience - the trait of being willing to obey submissiveness - the trait of being willing to yield to the will of another person or a superior force etc. disobedience - the trait of being unwilling to obey | |
3. | obedience - behavior intended to please your parents; "their children were never very strong on obedience"; "he went to law school out of respect for his father's wishes" filial duty - duty of a child to its parents |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
obedience
noun compliance, yielding, submission, respect, conformity, reverence, deference, observance, subservience, submissiveness, docility, complaisance, tractability, dutifulness, conformability unquestioning obedience to the law
defiance, disobedience, stubbornness, obstinacy, insubordination, recalcitrance, wilfulness
defiance, disobedience, stubbornness, obstinacy, insubordination, recalcitrance, wilfulness
Quotations
"They who know the least obey the best" [George Farquhar]
"They who know the least obey the best" [George Farquhar]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
obedience
noun1. The quality or state of willingly carrying out the wishes of others:
2. An act of willingly carrying out the wishes of others:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إذْعان، إمْتِثال للأوامِرطاعَه
lydighed
hlÿîniundirgefni
poslušnosť
poslušnost
itaatitaat etmesöz dinleme
obedience
[əˈbiːdɪəns]A. N → obediencia f
to command obedience → inspirar obediencia
to owe obedience to sb (frm) → deber obediencia a algn
to show obedience to sb/sth → obedecer a algn/algo
in obedience to your orders (frm) → conforme a or en cumplimiento de sus órdenes
in obedience to your wishes (frm) → obedeciendo a sus deseos
to command obedience → inspirar obediencia
to owe obedience to sb (frm) → deber obediencia a algn
to show obedience to sb/sth → obedecer a algn/algo
in obedience to your orders (frm) → conforme a or en cumplimiento de sus órdenes
in obedience to your wishes (frm) → obedeciendo a sus deseos
B. CPD obedience training N → adiestramiento m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
obedience
[əˈbiːdiəns] n → obéissance f
obedience to sb/sth → l'obéissance à qn/qch
obedience to the elders → l'obéissance aux aînés
obedience to the law → l'obéissance à la loi
in obedience to → conformément à
He did it in obedience to her wishes → Il l'a fait conformément à ses souhaits.
obedience to sb/sth → l'obéissance à qn/qch
obedience to the elders → l'obéissance aux aînés
obedience to the law → l'obéissance à la loi
in obedience to → conformément à
He did it in obedience to her wishes → Il l'a fait conformément à ses souhaits.
modif [class, training] → d'obéissance
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
obedience
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
obedience
[əˈbiːdɪəns] n → ubbidienzain obedience to your orders (frm) → conformemente ai vostri ordini
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
obey
(əˈbei) , ((American) ou-) verb to do what one is told to do. I obeyed the order.
obedience (əˈbiːdjəns) noun1. the act of obeying. obedience to an order.
2. willingness to obey. She showed great obedience.
oˈbedient adjectivean obedient and well-behaved child.
oˈbediently adverbKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
obedience
n. obediencia.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012