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

Republicans believe the basic job of government is to protect law-abiding people, keep violent criminals behind bars, and stand with victims instead of making excuses for the system that failed them. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 10 Mar. 2026

The only real question continues to be, what kind of government doesn’t want to keep its own law-abiding population safe and secure, by locking up as many violent criminals as possible, especially those who are not in the country legally and are almost all living on various forms of welfare. —Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026

Government officials said the changes could give the intelligence agencies access to a database containing hundreds of millions of documents — from FBI case files and banking records to criminal investigations of labor unions — that touch on the activities of law-abiding Americans. —Tim Golden, ProPublica, 25 Feb. 2026

The future of such bills is also uncertain in the Senate with a one-seat DFL majority; a few Democrats, in addition to Republicans, have in the past expressed concern about some of the measures and their impact on law-abiding gun owners. —Caroline Cummings, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026