Synonym Chooser

How is the word obedient different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of obedient are amenable, docile, and tractable. While all these words mean "submissive to the will of another," obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority.

obedient to the government

When is amenable a more appropriate choice than obedient?

The words amenable and obedient can be used in similar contexts, but amenable suggests a willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness.

amenable to new ideas

When is it sensible to use docile instead of obedient?

Although the words docile and obedient have much in common, docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance.

a docile child

Where would tractable be a reasonable alternative to obedient?

In some situations, the words tractable and obedient are roughly equivalent. However, tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing.

tractable animals

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of obedient Even so, our exercises did not suggest that any authoritarian would command a uniformly obedient federal workforce. Barton Gellman, Washington Post, 30 July 2024 In this election year, there is nothing more slavishly obedient than indifference. Robert Repino, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024 Most Christians view these verses as anachronistic and subject to historical context, much like other Biblical passages on stoning adulterers to death and ordering slaves to be obedient to their masters. Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 12 June 2024 The tennis balls had been stashed away safely by the time 2,500 dogs and their obedient human entourages overtook the U.S.T.A. Callie Holtermann, New York Times, 13 May 2024 See All Example Sentences for obedient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obedient
Adjective
  • Mark is taller and brighter than Darren but infinitely more docile and far less street-smart.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2025
  • While ponies have a more strong-willed nature, horses are usually more docile and willing to please.
    Kristan Hawkins, Newsweek, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Cowed by DeSantis, weak and submissive lawmakers unquestioningly approved his culture-war agenda.
    Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2025
  • The issue then was DeSantis’ marginalizing of Black voting strength in North Florida, forcing a submissive Legislature to swallow his map of congressional districts — an issue that’s the Legislature’s prerogative.
    Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The cotton, subject to EU regulations, is GMO-free, compliant with labor laws, and cultivated using water-efficient farming practices.
    Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Lutnick said Trump is considering excluding sectors that are compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement’s content provisions.
    Spencer Kimball,Kevin Breuninger,Jesse Pound, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Disney is boosting its advertising capabilities for live events, with third-party partnerships, a new certification program for live sports and entertainment as well as biddable deals for live sports.
    Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The technical review is meant to evaluate the structure’s design to ensure that a project is biddable, buildable, cost-effective and maintainable.
    Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Though the Franco-American relationship had cooled by then, Trump and Macron shook hands in a somewhat restrained manner. 2024: The Shake Seen Around The World Last December, Trump, Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Paris ahead of the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
    Matt Robison, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The commissioner’s restrained view of the FTC’s mission was inconsistent with Roosevelt’s policy agenda, which was the reason the president gave for dismissing him.
    Jacob Sullum, Orange County Register, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • In particular, embodiments describe protective cover layer structures that may be implemented in curved, flexible, conformable and foldable display modules, and in particular with curved, flexible, conformable and foldable display panels.
    Chris Smith, BGR, 6 Apr. 2021
  • Is this suit more conformable than the costume from Revenge of the Sith?
    Ryan Parker, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2022
Adjective
  • When the pandemic blew everything up, situations that seemed intractable (the need to go to the office every day, for example) suddenly proved surprisingly tractable.
    Ada Calhoun, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
  • In the 12th century, for instance, the Dutch began to drain swamps to create tractable land for agriculture.
    Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Though the Post was amenable to publishing the inside ad, Common Cause told the paper to forget it and walked away.
    Liam Reilly, CNN, 17 Feb. 2025
  • That stance has unnerved Ukraine, lending a sense of urgency to Kyiv’s need to appear willing to negotiate and to be amenable to Washington’s proposals on a peace deal.
    Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Obedient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obedient. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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