as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the disobedient child refused to eat his vegetables
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Recent Examples of disobedient
The news organizations also found that Garrison employees frequently removed students from their classrooms and sent them to crisis rooms when the students were upset, disobedient or aggressive.
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Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 20 May 2025
Fed Up in Illinois Dear Fed Up: Is Edie mean, arrogant, disobedient and rude in the presence of her parents, or has she been invited to spend time with your girls separately?
—Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2025
When Ballard was asked at the end of the season why Richardson needed to be demoted for the stakes of his job to finally sink in, the GM compared his QB’s behavior to that of a disobedient child.
—James Boyd, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
Sadly, they’re sometimes used because a guardian thinks the dog is being willfully disobedient, rather than examining the underlying issue that’s creating the problem behavior (for example, lack of training or not meeting the dog’s exercise or emotional needs).
—Dawn Kovell, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for disobedient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disobedient
Adjective
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Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery was the law in the rebellious states.—
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This wretched regime is doomed to be overthrown by the risen populace and rebellious youth.—
Adjective
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Two men are targeted by the rebel army who overthrew the government of Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzman.—
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He was denounced by rebel propagandists as a tyrant and remembered by Americans as a reactionary dolt.—
Adjective
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Vice President Delcy Rodriguez initially was angry and defiant.—
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Venezuela’s interim leader, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, has alternated between taking a conciliatory approach towards Washington and striking a defiant tone.—
Cite this Entry
“Disobedient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disobedient. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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