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
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Recent Examples of flunky
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
Jin and his other flunkies excuse themselves, but Tetsu keeps Botan there to question him.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 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
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
Jin and his other flunkies excuse themselves, but Tetsu keeps Botan there to question him.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 24 July 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
-
Amongst the servants, meanwhile, a hierarchy based on standing and rank also dictated living conditions like proximity to the family and who got to eat dinner first.—
Emma Banks,
InStyle,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Holding hands, terrace kisses and renegade servants?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Almost the entire Republican Senate caucus is made up of sycophants who disgrace the notion of democracy.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Jan. 2026
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And yet neither Congress nor the sycophants in the White House seem willing to stop him.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
And SpongeBob, determined to not be just a bubble blowing baby boy, is set off on his own odyssey that takes him and his jolly starfish sidekick Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) on a madcap adventure to the underworld with the ghost of The Flying Dutchman ( Mark Hamill ) and his lackey Barb (Regina Hall).—
Lindsey Bahr,
Boston Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
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Tony & Ziva wrapped its rollercoaster of an espionage tale Thursday with an intense finale, which picked up with the titular pair once again going in search of their daughter Tali after she’s kidnapped by Jonah Markham’s (Julian Ovendon) lackeys.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Appropriately, Stromberg’s henchman is named Jaws, played by the inimitable Richard Kiel, whose metal teeth and imposing physique make for some of the franchise’s most memorable fight scenes.—
Sezin Devi Koehler,
Entertainment Weekly,
27 Jan. 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
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Or a suck-up move to the Trump administration and its ridiculous claims against the media?—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
4 Dec. 2025
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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
-
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
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His latest lesson was giving the finger to a worker at a Michigan auto plant who yelled at him for his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, thereby giving license to his minions to do the same in any conflict or disagreement.—
Bob Kustra,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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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 4 Feb. 2026.
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