Obeisance — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting

the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/oʊbˈeɪsəns/

🇬🇧British English

/əʊbˈeɪsəns/

🇮🇳Indian English

/əʊbˈeɪsəns/

3 syllables Say it as /oʊbˈeɪsəns/.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

bow bowing obedience

Antonyms

disobedience

Word Forms

bow	verb	bend one's back forward from the waist on down
obedient	adjective	dutifully complying with the commands or instructions of those in authority; ; ; ; - Edmund Burke
obey	verb	be obedient to

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Ehrerbietung

Beugen des Kopfes, des Körpers oder des Knies als Zeichen der Ehrfurcht, Unterwerfung, Scham oder Begrüßung

🇫🇷French

révérence

plier la tête, le corps ou le genou en signe de respect, de soumission, de honte ou de salutation

🇪🇸Spanish

reverencia

Doblar la cabeza, el cuerpo o la rodilla en señal de reverencia, sumisión, vergüenza o saludo.

🇮🇹Italian

omaggio

piegare la testa o il corpo o il ginocchio in segno di riverenza o sottomissione o vergogna o saluto

🇳🇱Dutch

eerbetoon

het hoofd, lichaam of knie buigen als teken van eerbied, onderwerping, schaamte of begroeting

🇵🇹Portuguese

reverência

dobrar a cabeça, o corpo ou o joelho em sinal de reverência, submissão, vergonha ou saudação

🇷🇺Russian

почтение

наклон головы, тела или колена в знак почтения, подчинения, стыда или приветствия

India

🇮🇳Hindi

श्रद्धा

श्रद्धा या समर्पण या शर्म या अभिवादन के संकेत के रूप में सिर या शरीर या घुटने को झुकाना

🇧🇩Bengali

প্রণাম

শ্রদ্ধা বা বশ্যতা বা লজ্জা বা অভিবাদনের চিহ্ন হিসাবে মাথা বা শরীর বা হাঁটু বাঁকানো

🇮🇳Tamil

வணக்கம்

மரியாதை அல்லது சமர்ப்பணம் அல்லது அவமானம் அல்லது வாழ்த்தின் அடையாளமாக தலை அல்லது உடல் அல்லது முழங்காலை வளைத்தல்

🇮🇳Telugu

నమస్కారము

గౌరవం లేదా సమర్పణ లేదా అవమానం లేదా గ్రీటింగ్ యొక్క చిహ్నంగా తల లేదా శరీరం లేదా మోకాలిని వంచడం

🇮🇳Marathi

नमन

डोके किंवा शरीर किंवा गुडघा वाकणे आदर किंवा सबमिशन किंवा लज्जा किंवा अभिवादन चिन्ह म्हणून

🇮🇳Gujarati

પ્રણામ

આદર અથવા સબમિશન અથવા શરમ અથવા શુભેચ્છાના સંકેત તરીકે માથું અથવા શરીર અથવા ઘૂંટણ વાળવું

🇮🇳Kannada

ನಮನ

ಗೌರವ ಅಥವಾ ಸಲ್ಲಿಕೆ ಅಥವಾ ಅವಮಾನ ಅಥವಾ ಶುಭಾಶಯದ ಸಂಕೇತವಾಗಿ ತಲೆ ಅಥವಾ ದೇಹ ಅಥವಾ ಮೊಣಕಾಲು ಬಾಗುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

പ്രണാമം

ബഹുമാനത്തിൻ്റെയോ സമർപ്പണത്തിൻ്റെയോ ലജ്ജയുടെയോ അഭിവാദ്യത്തിൻ്റെയോ അടയാളമായി തലയോ ശരീരമോ കാൽമുട്ടോ വളയ്ക്കുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪ੍ਰਣਾਮ

ਸ਼ਰਧਾ ਜਾਂ ਅਧੀਨਗੀ ਜਾਂ ਸ਼ਰਮ ਜਾਂ ਨਮਸਕਾਰ ਦੇ ਚਿੰਨ੍ਹ ਵਜੋਂ ਸਿਰ ਜਾਂ ਸਰੀਰ ਜਾਂ ਗੋਡੇ ਨੂੰ ਮੋੜਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

سجدہ

سر یا جسم یا گھٹنے کو تعظیم یا سر تسلیم خم کرنے یا شرمندگی یا سلام کی علامت کے طور پر جھکانا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

顶拜

弯曲头部、身体或膝盖以表示尊敬、服从、羞耻或问候

🇯🇵Japanese

敬礼

敬意、服従、恥、挨拶のしるしとして頭、体、膝を曲げること

🇰🇷Korean

절

존경이나 복종, 수치심, 인사의 표시로 머리나 몸, 무릎을 구부리는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự vâng phục

cúi đầu hoặc cúi người hoặc đầu gối như một dấu hiệu của sự tôn kính hoặc phục tùng hoặc xấu hổ hoặc chào hỏi

🇹🇭Thai

การเชื่อฟัง

การก้มศีรษะ ลำตัว หรือเข่า เพื่อแสดงความเคารพ การยอมจำนน ความละอายใจ หรือคำทักทาย

🇮🇩Indonesian

sembah

menundukkan kepala atau badan atau lutut sebagai tanda hormat atau tunduk atau malu atau salam

🇵🇭Filipino

paggalang

pagyuko ng ulo o katawan o tuhod bilang tanda ng paggalang o pagpapasakop o kahihiyan o pagbati

🇲🇾Malay

sujud

membongkokkan kepala atau badan atau lutut sebagai tanda hormat atau tunduk atau malu atau memberi salam

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

طاعة

ثني الرأس أو الجسم أو الركبة علامة على الخشوع أو الخضوع أو الخجل أو التحية

🇮🇷Persian

تعظیم

خم کردن سر یا بدن یا زانو به نشانه احترام یا تسلیم یا شرم یا سلام

🇹🇷Turkish

saygı

Saygı, boyun eğme, utanç veya selamlama işareti olarak baş veya gövdeyi veya dizini bükmek

🇮🇱Hebrew

הַכנָעָה

כיפוף הראש או הגוף או הברך לאות יראת כבוד או כניעה או בושה או ברכה

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'obeisance'?

The primary meaning of 'obeisance' is 'bending the head or body or knee as a sign of reverence or submission or shame or greeting'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'obeisance' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'obeisance' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'obeisance' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'obeisance' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'obeisance' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'obeisance' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'obeisance' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'obeisance' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'obeisance' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'obeisance' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted