as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
no one liked the office toady, who spent most of her time complimenting the boss on what a great job he was doing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to fuss
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a satirical novel about an amoral go-getter who toadies his way to the top of the corporate ladder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of toady
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
And his toadies that go along with him are -- are subscribing to that.
—
ABC News,
28 Dec. 2025
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2024
This is the aspect of his production that made his reputation but is sometimes denigrated as superficial and toadying.
—
Sebastian Smee,
Washington Post,
20 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for toady
Noun
Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
1 Apr. 2026
And his toadies that go along with him are -- are subscribing to that.
—
ABC News,
28 Dec. 2025
Verb
Hamlet’s toadying friends, the hangers-on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are Izzard’s own talking hands, popping up to face her like a pair of Muppets.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2024
This is the aspect of his production that made his reputation but is sometimes denigrated as superficial and toadying.
—
Sebastian Smee,
Washington Post,
20 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for toady
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toady
Noun
-
In an undersized team that already shares a worldview, the silicon sycophant doesn't catch the blind spot.
-
Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.
Verb
-
Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
-
No need to fuss-up something that's just as delicious prepared simply.
Noun
-
Rarely has a president been surrounded by such an array of toadies and lickspittles, operating beyond their competence in an atmosphere of organizational chaos.
-
Firmly in control of the nation’s massive federal apparatus, MAGA and its Republican lickspittles in Congress have thrived on chaos.
Verb
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Part of what fascinated me about their presentation was not only their refusal to kowtow to male desire, which for decades had a stranglehold on rock aesthetics, but a concomitant disavowal of commercialism.
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But opponents now say the plan kowtows to oil and gas interests who are lobbying hard for concessions, citing an already unstable state and international energy market.
Noun
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The result of this dynamic tension of bootlickers, according to Bernhard’s narrator, is the perpetual elevation and official anointment of mediocrity.
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If all goes to hell and America devolves into a rank dictatorship, beware the bootlicker.
Verb
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Its mission was to upset hierarchies, not reinforce them, and few things were more offensive to comedians than bootlicking.
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Call it the bootlicking trickle-down-effect.
Noun
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Zoey Deutch wears minion yellow to the Los Angeles premiere of Minions & Monsters on June 28.
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And minions have taken over Wendy’s frosty machines with a new banana flavor.
Verb
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But the food justified every rave review, hour-long wait for a table, and fawning Instagram image.
-
There were no megastars to fawn over.
Cite this Entry
“Toady.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toady. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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