1
as in hagiographical
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulatory
Adjective
-
Chicharito also benefitted from his market placement in LA, in his case mainly due to the proximity to an adoring Mexican fanbase throughout Southern California.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025 -
In some cases, like his calls to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Mr. Trump has promised changes that many of his most adoring fans in Europe have stopped well short of.—
Jim Tankersley,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Eschewing the polished, hagiographic style of many contemporary making-of documentaries, Figgis keeps his footprint small and his perspective immediate.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Years of hagiographic media coverage and his immense social-media reach birthed legions of fanboys and nurtured a cult of personality.—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
The sickening moment of Kirk's murder was captured on video and has been viewed by tens of millions of people.—
Melissa Galbraith,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The song comments on the sickening glee that’s been spread in some corners in the aftermath of Kirk’s death.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
11 Sep. 2025
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
-
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
-
Ted Cruz, the perennial front-runner, is smug and oleaginous—hated equally by his colleagues and the public.—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
26 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
Touch screens are the worst, thanks to the constant exposure to our oily fingers.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
It can be caused by a number of different triggers, including certain medical conditions, hair care habits, dry scalp, hormone fluctuations, overproduction of a naturally-occurring yeast on the scalp and oily skin.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In its equilibrium, a good tomato sandwich is juicy and unctuous and appropriately messy, which is praise all-too-often reserved for hot sandwiches like cheesesteaks or patty melts.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
18 July 2025
-
Martin studied under and is basically a Temu Alan Grant, while the unctuous Friend oozes with corporate evil.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
It was crafted for robust and fulsome flavor from start to finish.—
Gege Reed,
The Courier-Journal,
2 Aug. 2025
-
Sadly, its five-year academic record is weak but can be turned around under stronger leadership that leverages the benefits of modern infrastructure and fulsome resources.—
Forrest Claypool,
Chicago Tribune,
10 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Adulatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulatory. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share