as in servility
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 obsequiousness
Groypers are repelled by the obsequiousness of pro-Trump influencers who are always willing to contort themselves to support the President’s latest actions.
—
Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
The overconfidence and obsequiousness of LLMs are training choices.
—Bruce Schneier, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2026
Trump doesn’t have much to show for his obsequiousness.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
For another recent client, the board’s questions about his employer’s stock vesting schedule had Bari, the client, his agent, and the listing agent go through four rounds of revisions to ensure their response nailed a just-right level of obsequiousness.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 11 Aug. 2025
Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
The overconfidence and obsequiousness of LLMs are training choices.
—Bruce Schneier, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2026
Trump doesn’t have much to show for his obsequiousness.
—Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025
For another recent client, the board’s questions about his employer’s stock vesting schedule had Bari, the client, his agent, and the listing agent go through four rounds of revisions to ensure their response nailed a just-right level of obsequiousness.
—Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obsequiousness
Noun
-
The women had been close friends while studying for their doctorates some years earlier, but Catherine has since grown resentful of Leonora’s career, and dismissive of women whose scholarly ambitions come before marital subservience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
These young ladies are primed for a life of modesty and subservience to their husbands and the future fathers of their children.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The steadfast pushback against the administration might appear on the surface to be an encouraging trend, given the complaisance of the Republican majorities in Congress and weak-kneed capitulation to Trump by leaders of institutions such as universities and major corporations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.—
Lesley M.M. Blume,
Town & Country,
6 Dec. 2022
Noun
-
Another is that Texas law accords substantial deference to private associations in their application of membership rules.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
13 June 2026
-
Melliti’s performance is one of silent suffering, illustrating Fatima’s deference to her family.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
-
Writing in the early 1890s, Nadar deployed Balzac’s reported initial mistrust and later acquiescence to the daguerreotype as an allegory of larger significance for understanding the history of invention.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obsequiousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obsequiousness. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
