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
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
While current power brokers haven’t scrapped movies over their content, yet, Hollywood has a recent history of companies obeying in advance by shelving projects until the tensions cool.
—Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2025
It was intended simply to verify that a nonviolent offender was obeying curfew hours.
—Robert S. Gable, IEEE Spectrum, 20 July 2017
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
While current power brokers haven’t scrapped movies over their content, yet, Hollywood has a recent history of companies obeying in advance by shelving projects until the tensions cool.
—Chris Yogerst, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 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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Congressional hearings about the Abbey Gate attack began in March 2023, following initial investigations by the Department of Defense in late 2021.—
Alexandra Rockey Fleming,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Kiefer Sutherland was arrested following an alleged altercation with a rideshare driver.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The camera also reveals the three vampires — Remmick (Jack O’Connell), Joan (Lola Kirke) and Bert (Peter Dreimanis) — observing it all from a distance.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
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Often that’s a licensed pilot but Federal Aviation Administration regulations also allow for others with official reasons to be there like a Defense Department evaluator, an air traffic controller observing, a crew member or a representative of the manufacturer.—
Jennifer Sinco Kelleher,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obeying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obeying. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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