as in flunkey
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
no one liked the office toady, who spent most of her time complimenting the boss on what a great job he was doing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a satirical novel about an amoral go-getter who toadies his way to the top of the corporate ladder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of toady
Audrey Kurth Cronin, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2011
This won’t end well, especially in a no-guardrails administration staffed by a how-high team of enablers and toadies.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2025
Gene Seymour, CNN, 12 Apr. 2023
Fox News has long been accused of peddling Trump’s falsehoods and toadying up to the former president.
—Tori Otten, The New Republic, 27 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for toady
Noun
But at the end of the Cold War, state sponsors and their toadies lost ground.
—Audrey Kurth Cronin, Foreign Affairs, 21 Dec. 2011
This won’t end well, especially in a no-guardrails administration staffed by a how-high team of enablers and toadies.
—Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2025
Verb
But without Logan’s presence, Tom’s penchant for toadying and betrayal has nowhere to play off. Get our free weekly newsletter Sign up for CNN Opinion’s newsletter.
—Gene Seymour, CNN, 12 Apr. 2023
Fox News has long been accused of peddling Trump’s falsehoods and toadying up to the former president.
—Tori Otten, The New Republic, 27 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for toady
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toady
Verb
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Williams never fussed about it, though and his relationships with many in the organization weren’t overly affected.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
14 Apr. 2025
-
No crying or fussing or squirming.—
Danielle Pergament,
SELF,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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There are still sycophants and acolytes, but no savvy producers to make his head-scratching moves appear to make sense.—
Laura Bassett,
Rolling Stone,
14 Apr. 2025
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This is the grim lesson—one that the ambitious sycophants who attach themselves to power have always been slow to learn—of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy, a series of fat, dense novels that filter the reign of Henry VIII through the rise and fall of his Machiavellian advisor, Thomas Cromwell.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Many of the university’s new policies have been seen by some critics as kowtowing to the Trump Administration.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
8 May 2025
-
Zen and others view any warming of ties with Beijing as kowtowing to an officially atheist regime.—
Eryk Michael Smith,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelenskyy while Russian leaders rejoiced.—
Maureen Dowd,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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Of course, being a junior senator and attaching your name to legislation that has little chance of being enacted—none of those have bills passed—is very different from being Vice-President and chief lickspittle to Trump.—
John Cassidy,
The New Yorker,
22 July 2024
Verb
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But on forums like Reddit, resentment bubbles from those who have had their favorite television shows pre-empted, believe Ohtani may be tainted by a gambling scandal that landed his interpreter in jail, or just can’t bear the nonstop fawning.—
Ken Belson,
New York Times,
18 Mar. 2025
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To add insult to injury, the Academy fawned and buzzed over Clint Eastwood (back row, center, left of statue)’s American Sniper, nominating it for six Academy Awards.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Besides being massively ignorant, Musk and his minions are drunk on ideology.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
-
Through their minions in the media, in Big Pharma, and woke teachers manipulating their children's minds, these elites hold an iron grip on society.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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My baby mutters and drool drips down his chin from his new molar.—
Jessica Slice,
Time,
9 May 2025
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Collectors drool over the wrist watch from the ‘60s.—
Richard Johnson,
New York Daily News,
6 Apr. 2025
Noun
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If Trump wanted to relieve Adams from his criminal indictment, the president could simply have pardoned the mayor, instead his henchman Emil Bove concocted a scheme to temporarily suspend the case against Adams provided the mayor went along with the Trump immigration agenda.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2025
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Especially when Cadfael’s worldly wisdom and endless curiosity puts him at odds with his stricter brethren, including the authoritarian Prior Robert (Michael Culver) and his deliciously weasely henchman Brother Jerome (Julian Firth).—
Mary McNamara,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Toady.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toady. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
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