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disobey

verb

Simple meaning

To not follow a rule or instruction.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dihsuhbay

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

dɪsəˈbeɪ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient

    “He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired.”

  2. transitive

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

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

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More ways to use disobey

  • “He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

disobey goddisobey orders

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.