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/ |
- 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.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryDisobey is used with these nouns as the object:- command
- instruction
- master
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French desobeir, based on Latin oboedire ‘obey’, from ob- ‘in the direction of’ + audire ‘hear’.