I. -nt adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin oboedient-, oboediens, present participle of oboedire to obey
1.
a. : submissive to the restraint, control, or command of authority : willing to obey
an obedient child
the most modest … of little men, and as obedient to his wife — W.M.Thackeray
b. : subject , subservient
that Germany would become an obedient sovietized state under the tight grip of the Soviet Union — Collier's Year Book
2.
a. : conformable or conforming to the control of an indicated agent
drifting obedient to winds and tides
obedient instruments of his will — Max Lerner & Edwin Mims
b. : acting in conformance to an indicated situation
obedient to his nature he pried into everything
Synonyms:
docile , tractable , amenable , biddable : obedient suggests due and accustomed recognition of and compliance with the commands of recognized authority
as second in command, Abercromby proved himself an obedient and trustworthy officer — Stanley Pargellis
he seemed to have lost all power of will; he was like an obedient child — W.S.Maugham
docile may stress a disposition to submit, either to due guidance and control or to imposition and oppression
that is a question which you must excuse my child from answering. Not, sir, from want of will, for she is docile and obedient — W.H.Hudson †1922
a state which dwarfs its men in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands — Howard M. Jones
tractable suggests characteristics that make for easy guiding, leading, ordering, or managing
they are the tamest, the most abject creatures that we can possibly imagine: mild, peaceable, and tractable, they seem to have no will or power to act but as directed by their masters — William Bartram
a wave of rebelliousness ran through the countryside. Bulls which had always been tractable suddenly turned savage — George Orwell
amenable indicates a disposition to be agreeable or complaisant and a lack of assertive independent or stubborn truculence
strikingly individual, never amenable to group coercion, expressing their convictions freely and ready to uphold their views by the code of the duel — V.L.Parrington
she therefore tackled her brother, anticipating a curt refusal, but determined nevertheless to stick to her point. Hermann, however, proved quite amenable, and admitted his liability without discussion — J.D.Beresford
biddable , often applied to children, indicates a ready, constant inclination to follow orders, requests, and suggestions
well-behaved children, biddable, meek, neat about their clothes, and always mindful of the proprieties — Willa Cather
so used to being biddable that words and wishes said and shown by older folks were still like orders to her — A.B.Guthrie
II. noun
( -s )
: an obedient person