disobey

verb

dis·​obey ˌdis-ə-ˈbā How to pronounce disobey (audio)
-ō-
disobeyed; disobeying; disobeys

transitive verb

: to fail to obey
disobeyer noun

Examples of disobey in a Sentence

If you disobey, you will be severely punished. The soldier disobeyed the general's orders. He was afraid to disobey his father. The driver had disobeyed the law.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Thousands of people were arrested by the LAPD and other agencies for failure to disperse, disobeying a lawful order and other minor offenses following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but both the Los Angeles city attorney’s office and former Dist. Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2025 Federal judges ruled Thursday that Alabama intentionally discriminated against Black residents when the state disobeyed court orders to draw a second Black-majority congressional district. Cheyanne M. Daniels, The Hill, 9 May 2025 And if the situation isn’t that dire, if our geopolitical power under President Trump is still strong enough to influence the behavior of one small Latin American state, then the Trump administration is choosing to disobey the orders of our nation’s Supreme Court. Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 27 Apr. 2025 He's been charged with reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer, failure to maintain lane, passing on the right, improper turn, passing at an unsafe distance, engaging police in a pursuit, interfering with an officer and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Michael Nied, People.com, 6 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for disobey

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French desobeir, from des- dis- + obeir to obey

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of disobey was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Disobey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disobey. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

disobey

verb
dis·​obey ˌdis-ə-ˈbā How to pronounce disobey (audio)
: to refuse, neglect, or fail to obey

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