as in following
to act according to the commands of
she taught her dog to obey her when she said "Sit!" most people obey the law and wear their seat belts
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Recent Examples of obeying
Soon, Melling’s Colin is obeying his lover’s every order, including by shaving himself bald and sleeping like a dog on the floor.
—
The Week Us, TheWeek, 2 Mar. 2026
The perspective of a military officer forced to choose between obeying orders and listening to his conscience is rarely explored.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
Writing isn’t about compiling a list of rules and then obeying them.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
If money talks, there clearly was a feeling George violated the letter of the law by obeying the spirit of her profession.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Police said that the person refused to leave the building and has not been obeying officers' commands.
—Jose Fabian, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
Raskin said Cheney was a champion of the executive branch and tried to stretch the limits of presidential power – while obeying the rule of law.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
It was intended simply to verify that a nonviolent offender was obeying curfew hours.
—Robert S. Gable, IEEE Spectrum, 20 July 2017
The Week Us, TheWeek, 2 Mar. 2026
The perspective of a military officer forced to choose between obeying orders and listening to his conscience is rarely explored.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026
Writing isn’t about compiling a list of rules and then obeying them.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
If money talks, there clearly was a feeling George violated the letter of the law by obeying the spirit of her profession.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Police said that the person refused to leave the building and has not been obeying officers' commands.
—Jose Fabian, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
Raskin said Cheney was a champion of the executive branch and tried to stretch the limits of presidential power – while obeying the rule of law.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
It was intended simply to verify that a nonviolent offender was obeying curfew hours.
—Robert S. Gable, IEEE Spectrum, 20 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obeying
Verb
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Detainers are still valid following an inmate transfer, and facilities are generally responsible for forwarding detention requests along to the receiving institution to ensure that a detainer remains in an inmate’s file.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Mar. 2026
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Oil depots in Tehran smoldered following overnight strikes by Israel.—
Alex Veiga,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But at the end of meteorological winter, which ran from December through February, few observing stations in the East had recorded a record-breaking cold winter, while dozens in the West and Southwest saw their warmest.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
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After observing Choe Hyon's sea trials on Tuesday, Kim said the ship met operational requirements and called it a symbol of the country's expanding naval capabilities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obeying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obeying. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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