obey

«obey» in Mova's school dictionary: To do what a person, rule or law tells you to do — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (obey, obeys, obeyed, obeying)

meaning for a pupil

To do what a person, rule or law tells you to do. tree →

sense in the lessons

In citizenship and safety lessons: obey the rules of the road, obey a lifeguard's whistle, obey safety signs and the law. In stories: soldiers obey orders, servants obey a king, a dog obeys commands. Also in science: objects «obey the laws of physics». Lessons also teach that you should never obey someone who tells you to do something harmful or secret — tell a trusted adult.

examples

• Dogs can learn to obey commands like «sit». tree →
• We must obey the school rules. tree →
• Always obey the lifeguard's whistle. tree →
• Drivers must obey the speed limit. tree →
• The soldiers obeyed the general's orders. tree →
• If a stranger tells you to keep a secret, do not obey — tell an adult. tree →
• Everything on Earth obeys the law of gravity. tree →
• "Master, I obey," said the genie. tree →

note

Regular verb: obeyed (keep the «y»). Noun: «obedience»; adjective: «obedient». Opposite: «disobey». «Obey» is stronger than «listen to»: it means you actually do what you are told.

In the corpora

• "Strong-willed" means defiant, refusing to obey.
• Real loyalty means caring for people and being honest with them, not obeying a group no matter what.
• Respect means people value and trust you; fear means people avoid you or obey you only while you are there.
• In 1215 English barons forced King John to accept Magna Carta, which said that even the king must obey the law.
• General Assembly votes show what most of the world thinks but usually cannot force a country to obey.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «obey» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.