Synonyms of law-abiding

law-abiding

adjective

ˈlȯ-ə-ˌbī-diŋ 

as in obedient

readily giving in to the command or authority of another

the law-abiding citizens of the neighborhood did everything they could to help reduce street crime

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obedient
• compliant
• docile
• restrained
• submissive
• tractable
• biddable
• amenable
• meek
• conformable
• decorous
• gentle
• repressed
• amiable
• controllable
• dutiful
• soft
• obliging
• acquiescent
• subordinate
• orderly
• tame
• agreeable
• servile
• disciplined
• governable
• obsequious
• subservient
• surrendering
• yielding
• mannerly
• manageable
• constrained
• slavish
• duteous
• mild
• fawning
• placable
• teachable
• obeisant
• inhibited
• trainable
• kowtowing
• disciplinable
• curbed
• handleable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rebellious
• recalcitrant
• wayward
• defiant
• unruly
• disobedient
• willful
• contrary
• restive
• noncompliant
• refractory
• insubordinate
• intractable
• obstreperous
• contumacious
• rebel
• stubborn
• ungovernable
• insurgent
• mutinous
• obstinate
• untoward
• wild
• headstrong
• balky
• hardheaded
• obdurate
• unyielding
• uncontrollable
• peevish
• dogged
• mulish
• defiant
• unmanageable
• resistant
• unamenable
• disorderly
• incompliant
• perverse
• mischievous
• bad
• froward
• naughty
• errant
• pigheaded
• undisciplined
• self-willed
• dissident
• balky
• nonconformist
• insolent
• impudent
• disrespectful
• rude
• impolite
• misbehaving
• ill-bred
• ill-mannered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of law-abiding

But some have pushed back on the administration's aggressive tactics and raised concerns that the catchall efforts could needlessly punish law-abiding providers that are trying to serve patients. —ABC News, 13 May 2026

But some have pushed back on the administration’s aggressive tactics and raised concerns that the catchall efforts could needlessly punish law-abiding providers that are trying to serve patients. —Ali Swenson, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026

John Commerford, executive director of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America, called it a key victory for law-abiding gun owners. —CBS News, 8 May 2026

Sweeping up lots of folks Of course, geofencing can sweep up lots of completely innocent people as suspects, and critics warn that geofencing could be used by the government to spy on law-abiding citizens engaging in, among other things, lawful protests and political activity. —Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026