obediently

obediently — adverb

1. doing something quickly and without complaint because a parent, teacher, boss, o

1.adverbB2
Definition

doing something quickly and without complaint because a parent, teacher, boss, or other person in charge has told you to do it.

Example

The puppy sat down obediently when Maya pointed at the floor.

verb + obediently after a command

Marcus obediently took off his shoes before stepping into his grandmother's house.

obediently + verb before the action

Common collocations
  • wait obediently
  • sit obediently
  • nod obediently
  • follow obediently
  • obediently do as told
Synonyms
  • dutifully

    stresses moral duty rather than simply following orders

  • compliantly

    more formal; emphasises agreement with rules or requests

  • submissively

    stronger; suggests yielding without will of one's own

  • meekly

    adds a sense of being quiet or timid while complying

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

verb + obediently

obediently + verb

Usage Note

Often modifies action verbs (sit, follow, wait, finish, nod) where someone complies with a command. Frequently implies the speaker views the person as junior or subordinate to whoever gave the order; can sound slightly negative when applied to adults, suggesting they should have resisted.

Common Mistakes

She obediently agreed with her friend's idea.
She willingly agreed with her friend's idea.
'obediently' implies authority and orders, not agreement between equals.
He obediently studies hard every night.
He studies hard every night without being told.
'obediently' suggests acting on someone else's instruction, not self-motivation.

Word family

  • obey
    verbB1
  • obedient
    adjectiveB2
  • obedience
    nounB2
  • disobey
    verbB2
  • disobedient
    adjectiveB2
  • disobedience
    nounB2
  • disobediently
    adverbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

These adverbs all describe doing what someone else wants, but the reason and feeling differ. 'Obediently' focuses on following an order from a person in authority — a child obeying a parent, a dog its owner, a soldier an officer. 'Dutifully' adds a sense of moral obligation: you act because it is the right thing, not just because you were told. 'Compliantly' is the most neutral and formal; it often appears in business or legal contexts where someone meets a rule or request. 'Submissively' is stronger and can sound negative, suggesting the person has given up their own will. 'Meekly' adds quietness or timidity. Compare: a clerk dutifully filed the report (out of duty); the clerk obediently filed it (because the boss told her to); the clerk meekly filed it (without daring to object).

obediently ↗dutifullycompliantlysubmissivelymeekly

Common collocations

Phrases

  • wait obediently
  • follow obediently
  • nod obediently
  • obediently do what one is told

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Built from the adjective 'obedient' plus the adverb-forming ending '-ly'. 'Obedient' came into Middle English from Old French 'obedient', itself from Latin 'oboedientem', the present participle of 'oboedire' meaning 'to listen toward' — formed from 'ob-' (toward) and 'audire' (to hear). The original idea was that obeying someone meant listening carefully to what they said. The '-ly' suffix is native English, from Old English '-lice', and turns adjectives into adverbs of manner.