disobey

  • 1Disobey — Dis o*bey , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Disobeyed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Disobeying}.] [F. d[ e]sob[ e]ir; pref. d[ e]s (L. dis ) + ob[ e]ir. See {Obey}, and cf. {Disobedient}.] Not to obey; to neglect or refuse to obey (a superior or his commands, the laws …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Disobey — Dis o*bey , v. i. To refuse or neglect to obey; to violate commands; to be disobedient. [1913 Webster] He durst not know how to disobey. Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3disobey — late 14c., from O.Fr. desobeir (13c.) disobey; refuse service or homage, from V.L. *disoboedire, reformed with dis from L.L. inobedire, a back formation from inobediens not obeying, from L. in not + prp. of obedire (see OBEY (Cf. obey)). Related …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4disobey — I verb act illegally, arise, be derelict, be disloyal, be insubordinate, be mutinous, be negligent, be perfidious, be recalcitrant, be recusant, be treasonous, be undisciplined, be unruly, betray, break a law, break a rule, break the law, commit… …

    Law dictionary

  • 5disobey — [v] disregard rules; refuse to conform balk, be remiss, break rules, contravene, counteract, dare, decline, defy, desert, differ, disagree, evade, flout, fly in face of*, go counter to, ignore, infringe, insurrect, misbehave, mutiny, neglect, not …

    New thesaurus

  • 6disobey — ► VERB ▪ fail or refuse to obey. DERIVATIVES disobeyer noun …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7disobey — [dis΄ō bā′, dis΄ə bā′] vt., vi. [ME disobeien < OFr desobeir: see DIS & OBEY] to refuse or fail to obey …

    English World dictionary

  • 8disobey — UK [ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ] / US verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms disobey : present tense I/you/we/they disobey he/she/it disobeys present participle disobeying past tense disobeyed past participle disobeyed to deliberately do the opposite of what… …

    English dictionary

  • 9disobey — dis|o|bey [ ,dısə beı ] verb intransitive or transitive to deliberately do the opposite of what someone in authority has told you to do, or deliberately not obey a rule: If you continue to disobey the rules, you will be punished. They knew he was …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 10disobey — verb Disobey is used with these nouns as the object: ↑command, ↑instruction, ↑master, ↑order …

    Collocations dictionary