obedient

obedient
adjective

obviously, you want an obedient dog for security work

Syn:
compliant, acquiescent, tractable, amenable; dutiful, good, law-abiding, deferential, respectful, duteous, well trained, well disciplined, manageable, governable; docile, tame, biddable, meek, passive, submissive, unresisting, yielding; malleable, pliable, pliant, subservient, obsequious, servile
Ant:
disobedient, rebellious
••
obedient; biddable; docile; dutiful; compliant
Children and animals may be expected to obey, but nowadays obedient is seldom used to describe adult human beings without a suggestion that they are allowing someone else to assume too great a degree of authority (are we to believe that Cinderella became the prince's demure, obedient wife?). The critical note is stronger in biddable. A biddable person is excessively meek and ready to obey any instruction, without questioning either its wisdom or the authority of the person giving it (he could barely think for herself, having been so biddable to his domineering parents). Docile (from Latin docilis 'teachable') has similar implications, but in addition to unquestioning obedience it suggests a general reluctance to complain or rebel, even where such behavior would be justified (employers depended on the regime for a cheap and docile workforce). Dutiful may evoke a sneer, suggesting the virtuous, yet dull (his dutiful niece spent most of her life caring for him) or the perfunctory fulfillment of an obligation (a dutiful postcard to his mother). One of the oldest (and still living) meanings of compliant is 'reshaping under pressure' (conversion of the gel to a much less compliant glass). This helps to explain the principal modern sense of the adjective, '(excessively) disposed to agree with others or obey rules' (compliant legislators loyally followed party policy). In the computer age a further sense, 'technically compatible,' has developed (the system is Windows compliant).

Thesaurus of popular words. 2014.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • obedient — obedient, docile, tractable, amenable, biddable mean submissive to the will, guidance, or control of another. Though applied chiefly to persons, they are sometimes extended to things. Obedient implies due compliance with the commands or requests… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • obedient — OBEDIÉNT, Ă, obedienţi, te, adj. (livr.) Supus, ascultător. [pr.: di ent] – Din lat. obediens, ntis, it. obbediente. Trimis de RACAI, 21.10.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  OBEDIÉNT adj. v. ascultător, bun, cuminte, docil, plecat, supus …   Dicționar Român

  • Obedient — O*be di*ent, a. [OF. obedient, L. obediens, oboediens, entis. p. pr. of obedire, oboedire, to obey. See {Obey}.] Subject in will or act to authority; willing to obey; submissive to restraint, control, or command. [1913 Webster] And floating… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • obedient — [ō bē′dē ənt] adj. [OFr < L obediens, prp. of obedire,OBEY] obeying or willing to obey; submissive obediently adv. SYN. OBEDIENT suggests a giving in to the orders or instructions of one in authority or control [an obedient child ]; DOCILE… …   English World dictionary

  • obedient — (adj.) c.1200, from O.Fr. obedient (11c.), from L. obedientem (nom. obediens), prp. of oboedire to obey (see OBEY (Cf. obey)). Related: Obediently …   Etymology dictionary

  • obedient — I adjective acquiescent, amenable, attentive, behaved, biddable, complaisant, compilable, compliant, complying, conformable, conforming, controllable, dedicated, deferential, devoted, dicto audiens, docile, ductile, duteous, dutiful, faithful,… …   Law dictionary

  • obedient — [adj] well behaved; submissive acquiescent, amenable, at one’s beck and call*, attentive, biddable, complaisant, compliant, controllable, deferential, devoted, docile, docious, duteous, dutiful, faithful, governable, honoring, in one’s clutches* …   New thesaurus

  • obedient — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ willing to obey an order or submit to another s authority. DERIVATIVES obedience noun obediently adverb. ORIGIN from Latin oboedire obey …   English terms dictionary

  • obedient — o|be|di|ent [əˈbi:diənt] adj [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: Latin, present participle of oboedire; OBEY] 1.) always doing what you are told to do, or what the law, a rule etc says you must do ≠ ↑disobedient ▪ an obedient child obedient… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • obedient — adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French, from Latin oboedient , oboediens, from present participle of oboedire to obey Date: 13th century submissive to the restraint or command of authority ; willing to obey • obediently adverb… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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