Words / B2

uh-BEED-ee-uh-nt/əˈbiːdiənt/

Obedient means doing what a person, rule, or order tells you: an obedient cohort; obedient to the brief. Opposite: disobedient; obey is the verb (already in the dictionary). An obedient reading of the rubric still needs an argument. Mix-up: obese is about weight; obeisance is formal respect. Do not praise “obedient” copying as analysis.

Meaning

Willing to do what a person, rule, or order tells you.

Examples

• “An obedient reading of the rubric still needs an argument, the marker wrote.”
• “The source contrasts obedient troops with a mutiny, which is the orders sense.”

Good to know

obedient to; an obedient + noun. Verb: obey. Opposite: disobedient. Trap: obese. Exams, history, and pastoral. Follows orders, not “well behaved” as a vague compliment.

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