obedi|ent /oʊbiː diənt/ ADJ A person or animal who is obedient does what they are told to do. □ He was very respectful at home and obedient to his parents. ● obedi|ence N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ to ] …unquestioning obedience to the law. ● obedi|ent|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He was looking obediently at Keith, waiting for orders.
obei|sance /oʊbe I səns/ (obeisances )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Obeisance to someone or something is great respect shown for them. [FORMAL ] □ [+ to ] While he was still young and strong all paid obeisance to him.
2 N‑VAR An obeisance is a physical gesture, especially a bow, that you make in order to show your respect for someone or something. [FORMAL ] □ One by one they came forward, mumbled grudging words of welcome, made awkward obeisances.
ob|elisk /ɒ bəl I sk/ (obelisks ) N‑COUNT An obelisk is a tall stone pillar that has been built in honour of a person or an important event.
obese /oʊbiː s/ ADJ If someone is obese , they are extremely fat. □ Obese people tend to have higher blood pressure than lean people. ● obesity /oʊbiː s I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ …the excessive consumption of sugar that leads to problems of obesity.
obey /oʊbe I / (obeys , obeying , obeyed ) VERB If you obey a person, a command, or an instruction, you do what you are told to do. □ [V n] Cissie obeyed her mother without question. □ [V n] Most people obey the law. □ [V ] It was still Baker's duty to obey.
ob|fus|cate /ɒ bfʌske I t/ (obfuscates , obfuscating , obfuscated ) VERB To obfuscate something means to deliberately make it seem confusing and difficult to understand. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] They are obfuscating the issue, as only insurance companies can. □ [V ] Macdonald accepted that such information could be used to obfuscate and to mislead.
obi|tu|ary /oʊb I tʃuəri, [AM ] -ʃueri/ (obituaries ) N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] Someone's obituary is an account of their life and character which is printed in a newspaper or broadcast soon after they die. □ [+ in ] I read your brother's obituary in the Times.
ob|ject ◆◆◇ (objects , objecting , objected ) The noun is pronounced /ɒ bdʒ I kt/. The verb is pronounced /əbdʒe kt/. 1 N‑COUNT An object is anything that has a fixed shape or form, that you can touch or see, and that is not alive. □ …an object the shape of a coconut. □ In the cosy consulting room the children are surrounded by familiar objects.
2 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] The object of what someone is doing is their aim or purpose. □ [+ of ] The object of the exercise is to raise money for the charity. □ My object was to publish a scholarly work on Peter Mourne.
3 N‑COUNT The object of a particular feeling or reaction is the person or thing it is directed towards or that causes it. □ [+ of ] The object of her hatred was a 24-year-old model. □ [+ of ] The object of great interest at the Temple was a large marble tower built in memory of Buddha.
4 → see also sex object
5 N‑COUNT In grammar, the object of a verb or a preposition is the word or phrase which completes the structure begun by the verb or preposition.
6 → see also direct object , indirect object
7 VERB If you object to something, you express your dislike or disapproval of it. □ [V + to ] A lot of people will object to the book. □ [V that] Cullen objected that his small staff would be unable to handle the added work. □ [V ] We objected strongly but were outvoted. □ [V with quote] 'Hey, I don't know what you're talking about,' Russo objected.
8 PHRASE If you say that money is no object or distance is no object , you are emphasizing that you are willing or able to spend as much money as necessary or travel whatever distance is required. [EMPHASIS ] □ Hugh Johnson's shop in London has a range of superb Swedish crystal glasses that I would have if money were no object. □ Although he was based in Wales, distance was no object.
ob|jec|tion /əbdʒe kʃ ə n/ (objections )
1 N‑VAR If you make or raise an objection to something, you say that you do not like it or agree with it. □ Some managers have recently raised objection to the PFA handling these negotiations. □ [+ by ] Despite objections by the public, the government voted today to cut off aid.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If you say that you have no objection to something, you mean that you are not annoyed or bothered by it. □ I have no objection to banks making money. □ I no longer have any objection to your going to see her.
ob|jec|tion|able /əbdʒe kʃənəb ə l/ ADJ If you describe someone or something as objectionable , you consider them to be extremely offensive and unacceptable. [FORMAL ] □ I don't like your tone young woman, in fact I find it highly objectionable.
ob|jec|tive ◆◇◇ /əbdʒe kt I v/ (objectives )
1 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] Your objective is what you are trying to achieve. □ Our main objective was the recovery of the child safe and well. □ His objective was to play golf and win.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Objective information is based on facts. □ He had no objective evidence that anything extraordinary was happening. ● ob|jec|tive|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ We simply want to inform people objectively about events. ● ob|jec|tiv|ity /ɒ bdʒekt I v I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ The poll, whose objectivity is open to question, gave the party a 39% share of the vote.
3 ADJ If someone is objective, they base their opinions on facts rather than on their personal feelings. □ I believe that a journalist should be completely objective. □ I would really like to have your objective opinion on this. ● ob|jec|tive|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ Try to view situations more objectively, especially with regard to work. ● ob|jec|tiv|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ The psychiatrist must learn to maintain an unusual degree of objectivity. SYNONYMS objective NOUN 1