flunkies

variants also flunkeys
plural of flunky

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of flunkies Yasmin, Tender’s briefly installed head of communications, is the first of Whitney’s flunkies to defect. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026 For instance, Bolsonaro’s flunkies penetrated the government agency that handled film distribution. Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025 The conservative dynamic duo representing the minority on the council against Wu and her progressive flunkies have repeatedly seen their proposals and bills rejected or just ignored by Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, a Wu ally. Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunkies
Noun
  • Individuals who begin to see themselves as fathers, mothers, believers, mentors, or servants often become less attached to the identities that contributed to their criminal behavior in the first place.
    Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Commissioner Tisch has already shown a real commitment to cracking down on corruption and ensuring that the public servants in the NYPD are held to the highest standards.
    Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 24 June 2026
Noun
  • For example, a group of minions might be pretending to fight a group of Vikings on a movie set, or enough alien spaceships to fill the entire screen appear and shoot their lasers at once.
    Parents, Parents, 1 July 2026
  • And minions have taken over Wendy’s frosty machines with a new banana flavor.
    Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Noun
  • After Wally springs her from the Shaw's clutches, the group manages to lure the couple and some of their lackeys into the makeshift particle accelerator trap that former engineer Sam built out of old cathode-ray tube TVs.
    Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 May 2026
  • Trump wants Americans to believe that his opponents are of this ilk, with his lackeys casting activists as domestic terrorists for merely showing up to protests.
    Gustavo Arellano, Houston Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.
    Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2026
  • Trump’s worried sycophants probably know that the details of an eventual agreement likely do not matter very much at this point.
    Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
Noun
  • Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
    Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Like the most treacherous toadies from literature — Iago, Wormtongue, Tywin Lannister — Miller managed to shove aside rivals to latch onto his master’s ear and guide him toward more evil.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Now, Lilith must team up with Cinderella to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen, and escape the Screaming Woods.
    Kevin Giraud, Variety, 23 June 2026
  • Launched in early 1982, the original MOTU line-up saw He-Man and Skeletor joined by heroes Teela (at this point, the only female character), Man-at-Arms and Stratos; the morally ambiguous Zodac; and a couple of Skeletor's henchmen, Beast Man and Mer-Man.
    Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Noun
  • Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
    Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.
    Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 23 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026
  • These are just some of the most prominent, powerful bootlickers stumbling right now on their own deceit and desperation.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flunkies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunkies. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster