disobedience
noun
-ō-ˈbē- \
Definition of disobedience
: refusal or neglect to obey
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Synonyms & Antonyms for disobedience
Synonyms
balkiness, contrariness, defiance, frowardness, insubordination, intractability, obstreperousness, rebellion, rebelliousness, recalcitrance, refractoriness, unruliness, waywardness, willfulness
Antonyms
compliance, obedience, submission, subordinateness, subordination, tractability, tractableness
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Examples of disobedience in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Many on the left cheered the efforts, citing the Trump administration’s policies toward immigrants as attacks on human rights that deserved the same sort of public displays of disobedience that defined the civil rights and gay rights movements. — Washington Post, "Tempers raised by immigration issue give way to insults," 26 June 2018 Many on the left cheered the efforts, citing the Trump administration’s policies toward immigrants as attacks on human rights that deserved the same sort of public displays of disobedience that defined the civil rights and gay rights movements. — Washington Post, "Tempers raised by immigration issue give way to insults," 26 June 2018 In the essay, Thoreau observes that the government, in the face of disobedience, attacks our material and physical comfort through fines and imprisonment. — Kelly Scott Franklin, WSJ, "‘The Road to Walden’ Review: Peripatetic Ponderings," 12 July 2018 Many on the left cheered the efforts, citing the Trump administration’s policies toward immigrants as attacks on human rights that deserved the same sort of public displays of disobedience that defined the civil rights and gay rights movements. — Washington Post, "Tempers raised by immigration issue give way to insults," 26 June 2018 Many on the left cheered the efforts, citing the Trump administration’s policies toward immigrants as attacks on human rights that deserved the same sort of public displays of disobedience that defined the civil rights and gay rights movements. — Jonathan Lemire, The Seattle Times, "Insults and rancor: Dems risk treading on Trump’s home field," 25 June 2018 And then to move further to the left because of one election that occurred in one Congressional district now, to encourage uncivil disobedience. — Fox News, "Nunes tightens screws in his probe into surveillance abuses," 3 July 2018 Many on the left cheered the efforts, citing the Trump administration's policies toward immigrants as attacks on human rights that deserved the same sort of public displays of disobedience that defined the civil rights and gay rights movements. — Jonathan Lemire, chicagotribune.com, "Insults and rancor: Democrats risk treading on Trump's home field," 25 June 2018 Charge: Insubordination, willful disobedience, failure of good behavior outside of duty hours. — Adam Ashton, sacbee, "Poop jokes, trash talk and a gun at work – a look at Cal Fire's crackdown on misconduct | The Sacramento Bee," 24 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'disobedience.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for disobedience
disobedience
noun
English Language Learners Definition of disobedience
: refusal or failure to obey rules, laws, etc. : a lack of obedience
See the full definition for disobedience in the English Language Learners Dictionary
disobedience
noun
\
Kids Definition of disobedience
: an act of failing or refusing to behave as told or taught The dog was punished for disobedience.
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