A disobedient person — often a child, in the way this word is taught — will not do what a parent, teacher, or other person in charge has told them to do. They know the instruction and they still say no, or they quietly do the opposite. It is stronger than forgetful or slow: the not-doing is on purpose. Adults can be disobedient too, toward a rule or an order, but in everyday talk we more often use it about children and animals. Though actually, disobedient is the adult’s or the school’s word; the child may feel they had a reason. The tidy picture is a naughty child. Real life is messier: sometimes they are testing a limit, sometimes they are scared, sometimes they think the rule is unfair.