Synonym Chooser

How is the word obedient different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of obedient are amenable, docile, and tractable. While all these words mean "submissive to the will of another," obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority.

obedient to the government

When is amenable a more appropriate choice than obedient?

The words amenable and obedient can be used in similar contexts, but amenable suggests a willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness.

amenable to new ideas

When is it sensible to use docile instead of obedient?

Although the words docile and obedient have much in common, docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance.

a docile child

Where would tractable be a reasonable alternative to obedient?

In some situations, the words tractable and obedient are roughly equivalent. However, tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing.

tractable animals

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obedient Today’s Republican Party is a bunch of weak, spineless cowards who cower in obedient terror at Trump’s feet. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 July 2025 The scale asks whether a respondent tends to prefer children who are obedient, well behaved and well mannered or children who are independent, creative and considerate. Adam Eichen, The Conversation, 11 June 2025 Those who tend to favor obedient children are scored as having more authoritarian views. Adam Eichen, The Conversation, 11 June 2025 They’re done being obedient to an archaic and broken system. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 1 Aug. 2024 See All Example Sentences for obedient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obedient
Adjective
  • Arizona tarantulas are not aggressive and are generally considered docile and shy.
    Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Contrary to popular belief, tarantulas, which usually stay hidden in their burrows, are generally docile and are not dangerous.
    USA Today, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Even the European Union, which bent over backward to offer concessions — pledging to somehow mobilize billions for American weapons, investments and gas purchases, despite having a highly questionable capacity for doing so — wasn’t submissive enough.
    Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2025
  • But while the Internet is torn over whether Carpenter’s submissive position on the Man’s Best Friend cover is funny or degrading, Whoopi Goldberg was more concerned with something else.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 12 June 2025
Adjective
  • One of the best defenses against these sorts of attacks is the use of multi-factor authentication that’s compliant with FIDO, the industry standard developed by a consortium of organizations around the world.
    Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Here’s a look at Trump’s tariffs on the two countries and their exemptions: Canada’s central bank says 100% of energy exports and 95% of other exports are USMCA compliant.
    Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Advertisers can use biddable automation to buy ads in real-time against live programming, which is especially critical for live sports.
    Sara Fischer, Axios, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Advertisers can use biddable automation to buy ads in real-time against live programming, which is especially critical for live sports.
    Sara Fischer, Axios, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But the whisky never strays too far from its wood-spiced core, with restrained elements of aspen, pine, birch, and cedar wood.
    David Thomas Tao, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Those gaudy, ridiculous 19th-century renovations lasted about 20 years, after which Theodore Roosevelt tore them out in favor of the restrained work of McKim, Mead & White, which laid the visual foundation for the rooms’ appearance today.
    Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Last year saw the first curved OLED televisions—progress in such conformable screens could lead to the days when virtually any surface could be host to a display.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 4 Jan. 2015
  • In particular, embodiments describe protective cover layer structures that may be implemented in curved, flexible, conformable and foldable display modules, and in particular with curved, flexible, conformable and foldable display panels.
    Chris Smith, BGR, 6 Apr. 2021
Adjective
  • Until recently, their goal has been to attack the more tractable pure delivery market with a custom delivery robot about half the size of traditional cars.
    Brad Templeton, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
  • These prove out Fielder’s intuition that aviation safety depends on candid cockpit conversation, a particularly high-stakes—and, crucially, perhaps tractable—example of Fielder’s over-all preoccupation with the fear and anxiety that inhibits genuine communication.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 May 2025
Adjective
  • Restaurant managers are usually familiar with their acoustic systems and should be able to say whether their atmospheres are amenable to conversation.
    Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2025
  • And though Voight is reportedly amenable, there are no guarantees.
    Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 6 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Obedient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obedient. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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