obedience

obedience — noun

1. the behaviour of following the rules or instructions given by a person, group, o

1.nounC1
Definition

the behaviour of following the rules or instructions given by a person, group, or law, instead of refusing or doing something different.

Example

The young soldiers were trained to show complete obedience to their officers.

obedience to + person/authority

Mrs. Lin rewards her dog with a treat every time he shows obedience during training.

show obedience (collocation)

Common collocations
  • blind obedience
  • unquestioning obedience
  • show obedience
  • demand obedience
  • obedience training
Synonyms
  • compliance

    more formal; often used for following official rules, laws, or company policies

  • submission

    stronger and sometimes negative; suggests giving up your own will to a more powerful person

  • deference

    polite respect for someone older or more important, not always actually doing what they say

Antonyms
  • disobedience

    direct opposite — refusing to follow rules or orders

  • defiance

    open and bold refusal, often with anger

Grammar Patterns

obedience to + noun

Usage Note

Almost always uncountable, often followed by 'to' + the person, group, rule, or law that is being followed. Subject of the obedience can be a person, an animal, or a group, but the noun usually carries a slightly formal or moral tone — common in writing about the army, religion, training, and parenting.

Common Mistakes

She showed an obedience to the law.
She showed obedience to the law.
'obedience' is uncountable, so do not use 'a / an' or a plural form.
The dog gave obedience for his owner.
The dog showed obedience to his owner.
use the preposition 'to', not 'for', and prefer 'show' over 'give'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four nouns describe a person doing what someone else wants, but they differ in tone and context. 'Obedience' is the most general word and often appears in writing about children, soldiers, animals, and religion; it can sound positive (a well-trained dog) or critical (blind obedience). 'Compliance' is more formal and businesslike — companies talk about compliance with laws or safety rules, without any feeling of personal loyalty. 'Submission' is much stronger and usually negative, suggesting that someone has given up their own will, often after pressure or force. 'Deference', by contrast, is polite respect shown to an older or more important person, and the speaker may not actually do everything the other person says. Compare: 'The clerk's compliance with the new tax rules' (cool, official) versus 'the clerk's deference to the elderly judge' (respectful) versus 'her quiet submission to her cruel husband' (sad, forced).

obedience ↗compliance ↗submission ↗deference

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • blind obedience
  • unquestioning obedience
  • obedience training
  • demand obedience
  • owe obedience to

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Came into English in the 1200s through Old French 'obedience', which itself came from Latin 'oboedientia', formed from 'oboedire' meaning 'to listen to, pay attention to'. The Latin verb is built from 'ob-' ('toward') and 'audire' ('to hear'), so the original idea was literally 'turning your ear toward someone' — listening carefully and then doing what they say. The link with hearing is also visible in English words like 'audible' and 'audience'.