Obey

Definition: Obey

Obey

Verb

1. Be obedient to.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "obey" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Note: Obey \O*bey"\, transitive verb. [imperfect & past participle. Obeyed; Obeying.]. (references)

Conformity

Be regular; Adjective: move in a groove; follow observe the rules, go by the rules, bend to the rules,obey the rules, obey the precedents; comply with, tally with, chime in with, fall in with; be guided by, be regulated by; fall into a custom,fall into a usage; follow the fashion, follow the crowd, pass muster, do as others do, hurler avec les loups; stand on ceremony; when in Rome do as the Romans do; go with the stream, go with the flow, swim with the stream, swim with the current, swim with the tide, blow with the wind; stick to the beaten track; (habit); keep one in countenance.

Facility

Verb: be easy; Adjective: go on smoothly, run smoothly; have full play; Noun: go on all fours, run on all fours; obey the helm, work well.

Motive

Be persuaded; yield to temptation, come round; concede; (consent); obey a call; follow advice, follow the bent,.follow the dictates of; act on principle.

Obedience

Verb: be -obedient; Adjective: obey, bear obedience to; submit; comply, answer the helm, come at one's call; do one's bidding, do what one is told, do suit and service; attend to orders, serve faithfully.

Phrase: to hear is to obey; as you please, if you please; your wish is my command; as you wish; no sooner said than done.

Subjection

Serve; obey; submit.

Submission

Obey; kneel to, bow to, pay homage to, cringe to, truckle to; bend the neck, bend the knee; kneel, fall on one's knees, bow submission, courtesy, curtsy, kowtow.

Crosswords: Obey

You sit there with full knowledge that in this life, there is no equality; that there are those who serve, and those that are served; those who obey, and those that are obeyed; those who bow, and those that are bowed to; that in this life, certain events take place that cause some people to be humiliated, and there are those who are the cause of that humiliation (The Good Doctor; writing credit: Anton Chekhov; Neil Simon)

In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)

I am refusing to obey. (Dad's Army; writing credit: David Croft; Jimmy Perry)

You will obey his commands for the time being (The Land That Time Forgot; writing credit: Edgar Rice Burroughs; James Cawthorn)

Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don't know the power of the Dark Side, I must obey my master (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi; writing credit: George Lucas; Lawrence Kasdan)

No I don't wanna be a boss that you obey (We Live; performing artist: Bosson)

You can't train a horse with shouts and expect it to obey a whisper. (references; author: unknown)

Obey the Law (1933)

Honor and Obey Love (1920)

To Honor and Obey (1917)

Obey Thy Feet (1994)

I Command! You Obey! (1994)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Flapdoodle, trust & obey (reference)

• Home Dog: How to Train Your Dog to Obey and Protect You: Revolutionary, Rapid Training Method (reference)

• Obey the Giant: Life in the Image World (reference)

• Resist Much Obey Little: Remembering Ed Abbey (reference)

• Teeny Tiny the Snowflake Learns to Obey His Parents (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Love Honor & Obey (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Command & Obey [CD-SINGLE] (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

No war talk! Attorney General Gregory says, "Obey the law, keep your mouth shut!". Credit: Library of Congress.

Signs of the times : warning, warning : no outside white visitors allowed -- because of your failure to obey the laws of our tribe ... Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

And let whoever in the country desires it, swear to obey the orders of the said five and twenty barons for the execution of all the aforesaid matters, and along with them, to molest us to the utmost of his power; and we publicly and freely grant leave to everyone who wishes to swear, and we shall never forbid anyone to swear. (reference)

Children, obey your parents, &c. (Second Treatise of Government)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

It may be wrong to obey even then, but if so, the fault is venial

We know thy charge, Brakenbury, and will obey.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Spontaneous movements may occur and the eyes may open in response to external stimuli, but the patient does not speak or obey commands. (references)

Civil Liberties

Korea

Articles of the Constitution that require citizens to follow "socialist norms of life" and to obey a "collective spirit" take precedence over individual political or civil liberties. (references)

Economic History

Burma

It has to obey the orders of the SPDC in adjudicating cases. (references)

Human Rights

Venezuela

The Constitution also states that an individual must refuse to obey an order to commit such a crime, and provides for the prosecution of the intellectual author of the crime. (references)

Political Economy

India

These problems are acute in Jammu and Kashmir, where judicial tolerance of the Government's heavy-handed counterinsurgency tactics, the refusal of security forces to obey court orders, and terrorist threats have disrupted the judicial system. (references)

Political Rights

Senegal

The ONEL was established as a temporary, independent oversight body empowered to order bureaucrats to obey the law and to take legal action against individuals and parties who violated it. The MOI remains responsible for the actual organization and implementation of the elections, which is done through a directorate of elections. (references)

Women

Yemen

The law provides that the wife must obey the husband. (references)

Worker Rights

Kuwait

There is no compulsion for employers to obey court rulings, and workers often did not receive court-ordered compensation. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "obey": obey an officer ♦ obey an order ♦ obey order ♦ obey orders ♦ obey the helm ♦ refuse to obey. Additional references.

Ending with "obey": dis-obey.

Afrikaans

gehoorsaam. (various references)

Albanian

zbatoj (act, apply, apply to, carry out, carry through, dispense, effectuate, enforce, execute, follow, observe, practise, realize), dëgjohem (arise, be heard, meet the ear, sound), bindem (answer, bend, comply, follow, make sure). (various references)

Arabic 

‏إمتثل (follow, toe the line), ‏أطاع (comply, conform, enforce, mind, subject). (various references)

Bulgarian 

слушам (attend, hark, hear, listen, listen to, pay attention), покорявам се, подчинявам се (bow, knock under). (various references)

Chinese 

聽 (allow, hear, let, listen), 服從 , 服从 (Compliance, Compliant, Obedient, Obeyed, Obeying, Subjected, Subjecting, submissive), 從 (follow, from, lax, observe, second cousin, unhurried, yielding), 巽 (a sign in the trigram). (various references)

Czech

poslouchat (hear, listen), podrobit se (bend, comply, knuckle under, resign, submit), řídit se (heed). (various references)

Danish

adlyde. (various references)

Dutch

gehoorzamen. (various references)

Esperanto

obei. (various references)

Faeroese

vera lýðin, akta. (various references)

Farsi 

فرمانبرداری کردن , موافقت کردن (Accede, Acquiesce, Admit, Agree, Assent, Comply, Concur, Grant, Jibe, Okay), حرف شنوی کردن , تسلیم شدن (Abandon, Acquiesce, Capitulate, Defer, Givein, Knuckle, Quit, Submit, Succumb, Surrender, Vouchsafe), اطاعت کردن (Hear). (various references)

Finnish

totella (answer, be obedient to, follow, respond to), noudattaa (observe). (various references)

French

obéir. (various references)

German

gehorchen (follow, respond, to obey), folgen (aftereffects, agree with, come after, ensue, follow, follow on, go along with, results, sequels, sequences, sequiturs, succeed, succeeding, successions, suites, tail, to ensue, to follow, to succeed, trace, trail), befolgen (act on, act upon, comply with, follow, keep, observe, to follow, to obey). (various references)

Greek 

υπακούω (abide). (various references)

Hebrew 

לשמוע בקול, ל�"שמע לפקו�"�", לצית (hearken, heed, take orders, toe the line). (various references)

Hungarian

teljesíti a parancsot (obey order, to carry out the order), szófogad, engedelmeskedik (abide by, respond, to bend the neck, to comply, to obey, to submit, to toe the line, to toe the mark). (various references)

Indonesian

taat (obedient), patuh (disciplinable, dutiful, obedient), mematuhi. (various references)

Italian

ubbidire, obbedire (respond to). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

�"う (to accompany, to follow, to obey), 守る (to guard, to obey, to protect). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

おやのいう�"と�'きく (to obey one's parents), したがう (to abide, to accompany, to follow, to obey), なびく (to be swayed by, to bend, to bow to, to flutter, to obey, to wave, to yield to), まもる (to abide, to guard, to obey, to protect), ふくする (to abide by, to be subject to, to obey, to submit to), つきしたがう (to accompany, to cleave to, to flatter, to follow, to join up with, to obey implicitly), ほうずる (to believe in, to dedicate, to follow, to inform, to obey, to present, to report, to serve), ほうじる (to follow, to inform, to obey, to report), かし�"まる (to humble oneself, to obey respectfully, to sit straight), めい�'ほうじる (to obey orders), め�"じゅうふくはい (pretending to obey but secretly betraying). (various references)

Korean 

순종하십시�". (various references)

Manx

cur biallys da. (various references)

Maya

u'uy thaan (to obey). (various references)

Papiamen

obedesé. (various references)

Pig Latin

obeyay.(various references)

Polish

być posłusznym. (various references)

Portuguese

obedecer (abide by, comply, conform, follow, listen, mind). (various references)

Romanian

se supune (bend, bow, comply, knuckle under, submit), da ascultare, asculta (believe, credit, examine, hear, hearken, intercept, list, listen), îndeplini (accomplish, achieve, acquit, do, execute, fill, finish, fulfil, go through, make good, perform, put through, realize, satisfy). (various references)

Russian 

подчиняться (conform, knuckle under, obeyed, obeying, resign oneself, submit, yield submission). (various references)

Scottish

géill (submit, yield). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

slušati (hark, harken, hearken, listen), povinovati se (abide, comply, conform). (various references)

Spanish

obedecer (answer, mind, take orders). (various references)

Swedish

lyda (follow, read, run, take), hörsamma, rätta sig efter (comply with, conform to, follow), åtlyda (comply, comply with). (various references)

Thai

เชื่อฟัง (bow before, bow to, listen to). (various references)

Turkish

uymak (abide by, accommodate oneself, accord, adapt, agree, answer, assort, become, chime, chime in with, coincide, comply, comply with, comport, conform, consist, consort, correlate, correspond, defer, do, do for, fall with, fit, follow, gear, go, go together, go with, harmonize, keep, keep to, match, mate, observe, pertain, quadrate, respect, sort together, Square, square with, string along with, suit, tally, tally with, tone, work in with), sadakât göstermek, söz dinlemek, riayet etmek (defer, observe, respest), itaat etmek (mind, submit), dinlemek (attend, follow, hark, harken, hear, hearken, lend an ear, lend one's ear, listen, listen to), ítaat etmek. (various references)

Ukrainian

слухатися (listen), коритися, керуватися чимсь, відповідати умовам рівняння, виконувати (administer, administrate, answer, carry out, comply, dispense, do, effect, effectuate, execute, fulfil, full, implement, perform, play, put into effect, render, solve, tender), підкорятися (bow, comply, conform, knuckle down, knuckle under, submit, tame), додержувати чогось. (various references)

Welsh

ufuddhau. (various references)

acceperant, acceperat, acceperim, acceperint, acceperis, acceperit, acceperitis, accepero, acceperunt, acceperuntque, accepi, accepimus, accepisse, accepisset, accepissetis, accepisti, accepistis, accepit, accepitque, accepta, acceptam, acceptamque, acceptas, accepti, acceptis, acceptisque, accepto, acceptum, accepturi, accepturum, accepturus, acceptus, accipe, accipere, acciperem, acciperemus, acciperent, acciperet, accipiam, accipiamus, accipiant, accipias, accipiat, accipiatis, accipiatur, accipiebant, accipiebat, accipiemus, accipiendo, accipiendum, accipiens, accipient, accipientem, accipientes, accipientque, accipies, accipiesque, accipiet, accipietis, accipimus, accipio, accipis, accipit, accipite, accipitis, accipiunt, ausculta, auscultabant, auscultans, auscultant, auscultare, auscultate, auscultavi, auscultes, famulor, obaudiendo, obaudiens, obaudientia, obaudierit, obaudieritis, obaudit, obaudite, obaudiunt, obaudivimus, obedia, obedire, oboedias, oboediatis, oboediatur, oboediebat, oboediemus, oboediens, oboedient, oboediente, oboedientes, oboedientia, oboedientibus, oboedieris, oboedierit, oboedieritis, oboedierunt, oboediet, oboedio, oboedire, oboedirent, oboediret, oboedisti, oboedistis, oboedit, oboedite, oboeditionem, oboeditis, oboediunt, oboedivimus, oboedivit, obtemperabimus, obtemperant, obtemperantibus, obtemperat, pareo, parere. (various references)

ge-hiersumian, hieran, hiersumian. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "obey": obeyable, obeyed, obeyer, obeyers, obeying, obeys. (additional references)

Words ending with "obey": disobey. (additional references)

Words containing "obey": disobeyed, disobeyer, disobeyers, disobeying, disobeys. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Obey" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: abey, boey, bokey, bouey, cobey, dobey, eby, Gobey, hobey, ibiy, Ibsey, iby, Mbeya, Nobay, nobey, oba, obay, obby, Obdef, obea, obeay, obed, obee, Obein, Obel, oben, obery, obet, obev, obeyd, obii, obje, obly, oboh, oboy, obu, Oby, Odboy, odey, Oebel, Oei, oey, ofey, ogey, ohey, Okeyo, Olby, oleya, oleyl, oney, opey, orbem, orey, Otey, Ouery, ovey, oxei, oxey, ubely, Ubley. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: bey, boy, bye, obe, yob.

-2 letters: be, bo, by, oe, oy, ye, yo.

+1 letter: bogey, boney, ebony, obeys.

+2 letters: betony, beyond, blooey, bogeys, boogey, bowery, bowyer, buoyed, bygone, embody, emboly, embryo, forbye, foreby, obeyed, obeyer, outbye, rebody, syboes.

+3 letters: baloney, bayonet, bellboy, benomyl, benzoyl, beworry, beyonds, biogeny, biotype, bobbery, bogeyed, bogymen, boloney, boogeys, bootery, bowyers, buoyage, bygones, disobey, embryon, embryos, epiboly, eyebolt, eyebrow, forebay, forebye, goodbye, homeboy, jobbery, lobbyer, newsboy, obesely, obesity, obeyers, obeying, obsequy, overbuy, pageboy, robbery, rosebay, soberly, soybean, yobboes.