Idiom idiom
tremble and obey
Meaning
To unthinkingly obey or pander to authorities, especially the Chinese government.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The citizens must tremble and obey the new laws.”
“The regime expects all its subjects to tremble and obey without asking any difficult questions.”
“In the face of such absolute authority, the populace is conditioned to tremble and obey, effectively silencing any potential for dissent or independent thought.”
Origin
Calque from Chinese 凜遵／凛遵 (lǐn zūn), a phrase historically used in Chinese imperial edicts.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026