Obey
[ə(ʊ)'beɪ] or [ə'be]
Definition
(v. t.) To give ear to; to execute the commands of; to yield submission to; to comply with the orders of.
(v. t.) To submit to the authority of; to be ruled by.
(v. t.) To yield to the impulse, power, or operation of; as, a ship obeys her helm.
(v. i.) To give obedience.
Editor: Ricky
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Submit, comply, yield
ANT:Resist, disobey, refuse,[See OBEDIENCE]
Checker: Olga
Definition
v.t. to do as told by: to be ruled by: to yield to: to carry out or perform.—v.i. to submit to power &c.: (B.) to yield obedience (followed by to).—n. Obey′er.—adv. Obey′ingly obediently.
Editor: Natasha
Examples
- The General replied, of course I must obey, and said his men were embarking as fast as they could. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- We have no choice, you and I, but to obey our instructions. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Deep in midnight, she was awaked by a rustling near her; she would have started up, but her stiff joints refused to obey her will. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- You shall be commander of the expedition, and I'll obey blindly, will that satisfy you? Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- To obey the civil magistrate is requisite to preserve order and concord in society. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- But Horsfall has this virtue, added the surgeon--drunk or sober, she always remembers to obey _me_. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- So long as I get it from my master or mistress, as the case may be, I obey it. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He gazed stupidly about him for an instant, and obeyed. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- This brief direction to Charley Bates, and his recent antagonist, was softly and immediately obeyed. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- The prayer-bell rang; I obeyed its summons. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- We obeyed, as in duty bound; Adele wanted to take a seat on my knee, but she was ordered to amuse herself with Pilot. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Those menials having obeyed the mandate, Edward Dorrit, Esquire, proceeded. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- I obeyed her directions. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She obeyed him with what speed she might. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- While obeying my directions, he glanced at me now and then suspiciously from under his frost-white eyelashes. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Is it obeying your husband to disobey him on the wital subject of his business? Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- They all stood in amazement, smiling uncannily, as if the rabbit were obeying some unknown incantation. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Then would the inferior Barnacles exclaim, obeying orders, 'Hear, Hear, Hear! Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Obeying her, he shambled out, and Eugene Wrayburn saw the tears exude from between the little creature's fingers as she kept her hand before her eyes. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- She is tenderhearted on the subject of her pupil; yet she reproaches you sometimes for obeying your uncle's injunctions too literally. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Obeying these impulses, he had become the husband of Perdita: egged on by them, he found himself the lover of Evadne. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Your mare in the stable knows me as well as it knows you, and obeys me better. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- He writes to this purpose on his slate, and Mrs. Rouncewell with a heavy heart obeys. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
Checker: Marsha