Synonyms of obsequious

obsequious

adjective

as in subordinate

disapproving too eager to help or obey someone important

She's constantly followed by obsequious assistants who will do anything she tells them to.

Related Words

• subordinate
• obedient
• dutiful
• servile
• decorous
• fawning
• slavish
• subservient
• docile
• submissive
• amiable
• controllable
• obeisant
• compliant
• gentle
• manageable
• acquiescent
• obliging
• tractable
• biddable
• amenable
• kowtowing
• governable
• agreeable
• conformable
• duteous
• placable
• restrained
• orderly
• mannerly
• law-abiding
• soft
• surrendering
• yielding
• disciplined
• repressed
• meek
• constrained
• tame
• inhibited
• mild
• teachable
• trainable
• curbed
• handleable
• disciplinable

Dissimilar Words

• mutinous
• obstinate
• stubborn
• obdurate
• peevish
• unyielding
• mulish
• headstrong
• insurgent
• uncontrollable
• wild
• dogged
• defiant
• resistant
• unmanageable
• hardheaded
• perverse
• bad
• mischievous
• pigheaded
• balky
• naughty
• disorderly
• errant
• insolent
• self-willed
• undisciplined
• impudent
• rude
• disrespectful
• impolite
• dissident
• willful
• contrary
• obstreperous
• recalcitrant
• unruly
• nonconformist
• rebellious
• contumacious
• wayward
• refractory
• intractable
• disobedient
• restive
• insubordinate
• ill-bred
• noncompliant
• untoward
• misbehaving
• ungovernable
• rebel
• ill-mannered
• unamenable
• froward
• incompliant

Synonym Chooser

How is the word obsequious distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of obsequious are servile, slavish, and subservient. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner.

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

When is servile a more appropriate choice than obsequious?

The synonyms servile and obsequious are sometimes interchangeable, but servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave.

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

When can slavish be used instead of obsequious?

Although the words slavish and obsequious have much in common, slavish suggests abject or debased servility.

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

When could subservient be used to replace obsequious?

The meanings of subservient and obsequious largely overlap; however, subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position.

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of obsequious

Trump’s Cabinet meetings might as well be filmed in North Korea what with the obsequious pandering before one of them dares speak. —Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026

Specific versions of ChatGPT have been singled out as being especially obsequious, and extreme cases have led to breaks with reality and explosions of violence. —Frank Landymore, Futurism, 11 Mar. 2026

In fact, the obsequious Barack Obama and the hapless Joe Biden helped Iran by sending in plane loads of cash to the murdering mullahs in exchange for nothing. —Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2026

Media analysts said Hegseth was trying to replace independent observers with obsequious pro-Trump voices. —Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026

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