disobey

English

Etymology

From Old French desobeir.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.əˈbeɪ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.əˈbeɪ/, /ˌdɪs.oʊˈbeɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ

Verb

disobey (third-person singular simple present disobeys, present participle disobeying, simple past and past participle disobeyed)

1. (transitive) To refuse or (intentionally) fail to obey an order of (somebody).

   disobey the rules

   disobey your parents

2. (intransitive) To refuse or (intentionally) fail to obey.
   • 1984, 10:44 from the start, in Dune‎ (Science Fiction), spoken by Princess Irulan, →OCLC:

     The powerful Bene Gesserit sisterhood for ninety generations has been manipulating bloodlines to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, a superbeing. On Caladan, Jessica, a member of the sisterhood and the bound concubine of Duke Leto Atreides, had been ordered to bear only daughters. Because of her love for the duke, she disobeyed and gave birth to a son: Paul, Paul Atreides.

Antonyms

• obey

Derived terms

• disobeyal
• disobeyer
• undisobeyed

Related terms

• disobedient
• disobedience

Translations

to refuse to obey an order

Arabic: عَصَى (ʕaṣā) Armenian: please add this translation if you can Belarusian: не паслухацца (nje pasluxacca), не паслухаць (nje pasluxacʹ), не падпарадкавацца (nje padparadkavacca) Catalan: desobeir (ca) Danish: nægte (da) c Dutch: niet gehoorzamen Esperanto: malobei Finnish: kieltäytyä tottelemasta French: désobéir (fr) German: missachten (de) Greek: απειθώ (el) (apeithó), παρακούω (el) (parakoúo) Ancient: ἀπειθέω (apeithéō), παρακούω (parakoúō) Italian: disubbidire (it) Latin: inoboedio Maori: takahi, whakatīhoihoi, whakahoihoi Oromo: diduu Polish: nie słuchać impf Portuguese: desobedecer (pt), desacatar (pt) Quechua: llamkay Scottish Gaelic: rach an aghaidh, eas-ùmhlaich Spanish: desobedecer (es), desacatar (es) Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

to refuse to obey

Arabic: عَصَى (ʕaṣā) Bulgarian: не се подчинявам (ne se podčinjavam) Danish: nægte (da) c Finnish: olla tottelematon French: désobéir (fr) German: nicht gehorchen Greek: απειθώ (el) (apeithó), παρακούω (el) (parakoúo) Ancient: ἀπειθέω (apeithéō), παρακούω (parakoúō) Haitian Creole: dezobeyi Hungarian: engedetlenkedik (hu) Maori: tīhoihoi Scottish Gaelic: eas-ùmhlaich Spanish: desobedecer (es), insubordinarse (es), indisciplinarse (es) Swahili: kuasi (sw)

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