variants
also flunkey
or flunkie
1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
since I'm just the flunky who files his papers, I've no idea where he is
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a rock star who saw through the phonies and the flunkies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of flunky
The best sequences allow for some building of suspense, like the fate of Gautama’s flunky while closing the family shop at night, or an episode when Tika is chased by her possessed mother in their house.
—
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Tacoma is Seattle’s industrial flunky, the also-ran, the perennial embarrassment.
—Caroline Fraser
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
No matter what spec-chart flunkies might say about a car that merely hits 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, GT 63 proved as ferocious and exhilarating as any front-engine GT car available, whether German, Italian or English.
—Mark Ewing, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Tacoma is Seattle’s industrial flunky, the also-ran, the perennial embarrassment.
—Caroline Fraser
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
No matter what spec-chart flunkies might say about a car that merely hits 60 mph in 3.1 seconds, GT 63 proved as ferocious and exhilarating as any front-engine GT car available, whether German, Italian or English.
—Mark Ewing, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunky
Noun
-
Good for house servants, cooks, and cigar smokers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Neither starts the series out with much in the way of prospects, with Jon the illegitimate, unacknowledged son of a Lord and Sansa relegated to the status of servant after her father is executed before her very eyes.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Eager sycophants run behind him to carry out his directives and repeat his absurdities.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2026
-
In her ongoing role as one of Donald Trump’s chief sycophants, Bondi managed to hurl insults and make light of the serious matters at issue.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
To keep their gang leader boss from being convicted of murder, a pair of his lackeys went on social media to intimidate a witness, threatening to kill his kindergarten son at his school, federal authorities said Wednesday.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Trump and his lackeys do their best to disrupt free and fair elections, abrogate freedom of speech and curtail press freedom.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Ben, flanked by his henchmen, was seen as formidable and dangerous.—
Thomas Morgan,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper’s Beadle Bamford, the judge’s henchman, has a malicious ebullience all his own.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
Noun
-
Or a suck-up move to the Trump administration and its ridiculous claims against the media?—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Like many digital beings, Reps, as Replika’s avatars are known, are engineered to be agreeable, nonjudgmental, and zealously supportive—i.e., suck-ups.—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Instead, his minions, so afraid of earning his wrath, have remained quiet.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Ackie mostly barks orders at her minions to go get him, while Nighy in his home plays the bad guy demanding blood.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunky. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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