1
as in hagiographic
overly or insincerely flattering
an office flunky who can be counted on to make an adulatory response to the boss's every suggestion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adoring
reflecting great admiration or devotion
an adulatory eulogy delivered at a beloved teacher's retirement party
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adulatory
Reggie’s solution is to hire Arthur Tobin (Daniel Radcliffe), an Oscar-winning documentarian, to make an adulatory film about him, changing public perception and opening new doors.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026
Though the pilot wasn't picked up, Spinal Tap endured, acting as the primary subject of the first film's sendup of breathlessly adulatory rock biopics like Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 18 Jan. 2026
Though the pilot wasn't picked up, Spinal Tap endured, acting as the primary subject of the first film's sendup of breathlessly adulatory rock biopics like Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulatory
Adjective
-
Of course, a person making a hagiographic documentary about the production of the show for Netflix probably isn’t the world’s most neutral source.—
Sharon Adarlo,
Futurism,
14 Jan. 2026
-
In a way, then, a documentary like Angus Wall’s Being Eddie, a generally amiable and adulatory 90 minutes streaming on Netflix, fails; with its softly hagiographic approach, the director never pushes Eddie Murphy to any place that feels untapped or confrontational, and therefore newsworthy.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Andrew Buss takes an adoring but critical eye to Superbad.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
-
The Patriots’ pass coverage without Christian Gonzalez, their atrocious inside linebacker play and roller-coaster special teams, which give any adoring fan a heart attack at a moment’s notice.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
But Pretti’s last seconds were captured from multiple angles, in sickening footage widely distributed on social media and by news organizations.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The Social Security Administration sent a gushy, questionable email July 4 to millions of people collecting Social Security benefits and others.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
21 July 2025
-
The chatter has only grown in recent days, after Ms. Anderson — who just celebrated a birthday — posted a story on her Instagram account, showing a lavish bouquet of flowers and a gushy card from an admirer.—
Jesse McKinley,
New York Times,
12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
His widow doesn’t exactly look too broken up; less than a week after his death, Lee spots her snuggling with Dale’s brother Donald, an oleaginous candidate for governor played by Kyle MacLachlan.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
-
One defense, beginning in the late eighteen-hundreds, was flypaper, sheets of which were coated on one side with an oleaginous substance that lured flies, then permanently trapped them.—
David Owen,
The New Yorker,
27 July 2024
Adjective
-
Cold winds and low humidity sap moisture, leaving even typically oily skin feeling dry and sensitive.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
28 Jan. 2026
-
In my experience, moisturizers for dry skin tend to be unctuously thick, which can trigger breakouts, while those made for oily skin are often too light to make a difference.—
Jacqueline Kilikita,
Refinery29,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Some bars are dry on the tongue, others are unctuous.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Field peas, red rice and the best part — oxtail — cooked down, down and down again into a warm, unctuous delight.—
Timothy DePeugh,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Reviews of the memoir were fulsome.—
David Treuer,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The film has had a fulsome festival run landing various accolades along the way, including two awards at the British Short Film Awards.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulatory. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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