The act of refusing to follow rules, orders, or instructions from someone in authority.
From Old French 'desobeissance,' combining the prefix 'dis-' (not) with 'obedience' (from Latin 'obedire,' meaning to listen or comply). The meaning has been consistent since Middle English.
Civil disobedience—deliberately breaking unjust laws—became famous through Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., proving that sometimes disobedience is actually a form of moral courage and justice rather than simple wrongdoing.
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