TOP

Definition of disobey verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

disobey

verb
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/
[transitive, intransitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they disobey
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪ/
he / she / it disobeys
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪz/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪz/
past simple disobeyed
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪd/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪd/
past participle disobeyed
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪd/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪd/
-ing form disobeying
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪɪŋ/
 
/ˌdɪsəˈbeɪɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. disobey (somebody/something) to refuse to do what a person, a law, an order, etc. tells you to do; to refuse to obey
    • He was punished for disobeying orders.
    • How dare you disobey me!
    • She sighed deeply but dared not disobey.
    opposite obey
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryDisobey is used with these nouns as the object:
    • command
    • instruction
    • master
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French desobeir, based on Latin oboedire ‘obey’, from ob- ‘in the direction of’ + audire ‘hear’.
See disobey in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day