How to Use disobedience in a Sentence

disobedience

noun
  • The dog was punished for its disobedience.
  • The student's disobedience shocked the teacher.
  • Due to disobedience, they had been carried off to a foreign land.
    Rev. Tom Rakow, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2024
  • The sting was instant, like being slapped across the face for disobedience.
    Iman Hariri-Kia, Teen Vogue, 2 Oct. 2017
  • Not out of spite or disobedience, but because the learning style itself made no sense to him.
    David James, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Sep. 2019
  • Maybe this is why Mike came close to an act of disobedience that verged on career suicide.
    New York Times, 15 Apr. 2022
  • This week, small acts of disobedience can remind you of what is possible.
    Claire Comstock-Gay, The Cut, 7 May 2018
  • As the kidz say, read the whole thing, and then think about what might happen in the case of widespread civil disobedience.
    Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 16 June 2017
  • Yes From an early age, we are taught that obedience is good, and disobedience is bad.
    Dr. Sunita Sah, TIME, 4 Jan. 2025
  • The flight was a stunning success but is best remembered for the crew’s disobedience.
    Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2017
  • Revere wasn’t court-martialed, but he was charged with disobedience and cowardice and kicked out of the militia.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022
  • The catalyst or the nature of the disobedience may change, but the core issue remains.
    Tara García Mathewson, USA TODAY, 20 July 2023
  • Civil disobedience is never the safest choice, but systems don’t change until people take a stand.
    Gary Hamel, Quartz at Work, 17 Aug. 2020
  • Likewise, the price of disobedience is ultimately borne by the child.
    John Rosemond, charlotteobserver, 26 Apr. 2017
  • The streak of disobedience and Alonso’s demoralised acceptance of it summed up a coach who had hit a dead end.
    New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
  • Lobau served four years of jail time for acts of disobedience in his native Belarus in 2010.
    Samya Kullab, ajc, 4 Feb. 2023
  • The law states civil contempt can only be established when there is willful disobedience of a valid court order.
    Stephen Simpson, Arkansas Online, 2 Dec. 2022
  • Thousands of police have been training for months to prepare for a huge annual protest march and any flare-ups of civil disobedience.
    David Tweed, Bloomberg.com, 15 June 2017
  • And this collision is very intense, but full of life and disobedience, and ruptures morality.
    Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Well, so much for freedom of speech, peaceful disobedience, and other ideas many Americans hold dear.
    Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 13 July 2019
  • The passenger was arrested, and now faces charges of crime of resistance and disobedience.
    Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Three other separatist leaders were sentenced for the lesser crime of disobedience during the events two years ago.
    Raphael Minder, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2019
  • Authorities had to drag her out of the theater, and Desmond was thrown in jail for 12 hours and fined for her disobedience.
    Anne Branigin, The Root, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Three other defendants were found guilty of disobedience, fined and banned from public office for 20 months.
    Ben Church, CNN, 24 Oct. 2019
  • As part of the civil-disobedience acts, people blocked streets and government buildings and were arrested.
    Jessica Boehm, azcentral, 28 June 2019
  • The letter does not specify the details of the social media conduct or disobedience.
    Cady Stanton, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2022
  • But experts say, sometimes the protests go too far, tiptoeing the line between free speech and civil disobedience, which can be punishable by law.
    Caroline Glenn, USA TODAY, 13 May 2017
  • The disobedience does not last forever, according to the findings.
    Fox News, 14 May 2020
  • But former detainees say they have been sent to the facilities on charges of disobedience or even because of minor disagreements at home.
    Lynzy Billing, ELLE, 7 June 2022
  • Yes, this movie is a safari to the shadowland, a place of death and fear where Simba ventures, early on, in disobedience of his father.
    Michael O'Sullivan, Twin Cities, 18 July 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'disobedience.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: