obedient
adjective
obe·di·ent
ō-ˈbē-dē-ənt 
ə-
: submissive to the restraint or command of authority : willing to obey
an obedient child
an obedient dog
obedient to those whom he feared—
A. N. Wilson
A. N. Wilson
obediently
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of obedient in a Sentence
that boy is so obedient that he does everything the first time he is asked
Recent Examples on the Web
Step 11: Don’t be automatically allegiant or blindly obedient.
—Barbara Kellerman, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
No recruiting militia passed through her village; her transformation from obedient housewife to swaggering gang leader was accomplished by sheer force of will.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Thirty years ago, Turkey was an obedient U.S. ally, dependent on Washington for its security and prosperity.
—Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
The dog must be obedient to his owner, the child to his parents.
—Hebe Uhart, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
Shamkhani was replaced with IRGC General Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who analysts say is expected to be more obedient and less ambitious than Shamkhani.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 26 May 2023
Ballet is a particularly stark example of a broader system that conditions women to be obedient, to suffer for perfection, and never complain about any of it.
—Madison Mainwaring, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2023
After a long string of failures and few significant victories, the knives now seem to be out for Russian generals, amid criticism from prominent Russian military correspondents, state television propagandists and even members of the normally obedient parliament.
—Natalia Abbakumova, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2022
On Tuesday night, Hollywood Boulevard played host to the red carpet premiere of Disney Pixar’s Turning Red — a coming-of-age tale centered on 13-year-old Mei Lee, a girl torn between being her mother’s obedient daughter and giving into the chaos of her youth.
—Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2022
Barbara Kellerman, Fortune, 6 Mar. 2024
No recruiting militia passed through her village; her transformation from obedient housewife to swaggering gang leader was accomplished by sheer force of will.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Thirty years ago, Turkey was an obedient U.S. ally, dependent on Washington for its security and prosperity.
—Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
The dog must be obedient to his owner, the child to his parents.
—Hebe Uhart, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
Shamkhani was replaced with IRGC General Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who analysts say is expected to be more obedient and less ambitious than Shamkhani.
—Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 26 May 2023
Ballet is a particularly stark example of a broader system that conditions women to be obedient, to suffer for perfection, and never complain about any of it.
—Madison Mainwaring, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2023
After a long string of failures and few significant victories, the knives now seem to be out for Russian generals, amid criticism from prominent Russian military correspondents, state television propagandists and even members of the normally obedient parliament.
—Natalia Abbakumova, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2022
On Tuesday night, Hollywood Boulevard played host to the red carpet premiere of Disney Pixar’s Turning Red — a coming-of-age tale centered on 13-year-old Mei Lee, a girl torn between being her mother’s obedient daughter and giving into the chaos of her youth.
—Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obedient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near obedient
Cite this Entry
“Obedient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obedient. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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