as in fawning
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for genuflecting
Adjective
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Most are evasive, a few are obsequious, many are defiant, a few are enraged, and all appear to feel their lives slipping away under the seemingly boundless force of judicial inquisition.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026 -
Plentiful staff are ever-present and always obliging, without being obsequious.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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After all, the deal — for a long-forsaken project, an action-comedy franchise starring two aging stars — underscores the servile fealty of new Paramount owners Larry and David Ellison amid their recent maneuvering to take control of TikTok and Warner Bros. Discovery (the latter seemingly futile).—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Dec. 2025
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Earlier this year, my colleague and bud Kelefa Sanneh suggested that music critics, as a lot, have gone soft—becoming submissive, overly agreeable, and, in some cases, nearly servile.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Or the ways in which both adult-content sites such as OnlyFans and chatbot platforms habituate users (primarily men) to intimate relationships that are entirely sycophantic and affirming.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
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On top of having pitifully weak guardrails and being wildly unpredictable, AI chatbots are designed to affect human-like personas and, to keep users engaged, be sycophantic.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Essentially worshipful in its view of Lee, the movie never acknowledges that one person drawing so much unbridled admiration is more than a little creepy.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
25 Dec. 2025
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But while his adoration does have an erotic edge to it (see: The Shape of Water), on the whole, his affection for the misshapen and the outcast among us is more worshipful than overtly lusty.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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That’s the biggest takeaway from the singer/songwriter’s magical, spirited and joyous performance Saturday night in front of a sold-out, absolutely reverent crowd at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
22 Feb. 2026
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Phones stayed largely down — which in this case felt less like reverent immersion and more like a crowd waiting for something to catch fire.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The choice was pragmatic as much as reverential.—
Andy Hazel,
IndieWire,
16 Jan. 2026
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The conversation has turned almost reverential, sometimes even a bit pretentious.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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What historians and theologians know about Francis comes primarily from his own writings and hagiographic texts.—
Vanessa Corcoran,
The Conversation,
2 Feb. 2026
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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
Adjective
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Sometimes the humble may be seen as meek, subservient or self-abasing.—
Barret Michalec,
The Conversation,
19 Feb. 2026
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Gianni Versace’s women were never so subservient.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Genuflecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/genuflecting. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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