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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Here’s how the other following contenders landed in the top five for Charlotte’s best places to live.—
Chase Jordan
March 30,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
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The Knicks lost a second game in a row for just the fourth time this season, following Thursday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets with a late-game collapse against the defending champs.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The wars in Iran and Ukraine will be top of the agenda, while South Africa, which was supposed to attend as an observing nation, says France withdrew its G7 invitation after the US threatened to boycott.—
Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
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Kay visited a university snow observing site in the Rockies this week and found only patchy, slushy snow cover that was melting rapidly.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obeying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obeying. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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