obedient

obe·di·ent

adj \-ənt\

Definition of OBEDIENT

: submissive to the restraint or command of authority : willing to obey

— obe·di·ent·ly adverb

Examples of OBEDIENT

1. <that boy is so obedient that he does everything the first time he is asked>

Origin of OBEDIENT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin oboedient-, oboediens, from present participle of oboedire to obey

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to OBEDIENT

Synonyms: amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, law-abiding, submissive, tractable

Antonyms: balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, disobedient, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, intractable, noncompliant, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, refractory, restive, unamenable, ungovernable, unruly, untoward, wayward, willful (or wilful)

Related Words: acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, duteous, dutiful, obliging, placable; soft, surrendering, yielding; fawning, kowtowing, obeisant, obsequious, servile, slavish, subordinate, subservient; decorous, disciplined, mannerly, orderly; constrained, curbed, inhibited, repressed, restrained; controllable, disciplinable, governable, handleable, manageable, tame, teachable, tractable, trainable; gentle, meek, mild

Near Antonyms: insurgent, mutinous; dogged, hardheaded, headstrong, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, peevish, pigheaded, self-willed, stubborn, unyielding; uncontrollable, unmanageable, wild; balky, defiant, perverse, resistant; bad, disorderly, errant, misbehaving, mischievous, naughty; ill-bred, undisciplined; dissident, nonconformist; disrespectful, ill-mannered, impolite, impudent, insolent, rude

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Synonym Discussion of OBEDIENT

obedient, docile, tractable, amenable mean submissive to the will of another. obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority <obedient to the government>. docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance <a docile child>. tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing <tractable animals>. amenable suggests a willingness to yield or to cooperate either because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness <amenable to new ideas>.

Rhymes with OBEDIENT

expedient, ingredient, submediant