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toadying 1 of 3

adjective

as in obsequious

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toadying

2 of 3

noun

as in fawning

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toadying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of toady
as in fussing
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toadying
  1. obsequious
  2. fawning
  3. fussing
  4. sycophantic
  5. sycophancy
  6. kowtowing
  7. servile
  8. worship
Adjective
  • For instance, Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have become openly obsequious in sucking up to the DSA.
    — Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
  • As a friend — her friends all know that Bobbi was singular — ever thoughtful, never obsequious, sometimes obstinate, always honest.
    — Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 6 July 2026
Definition of obsequious
Noun
  • Experts say that fawning is a stress response that some teens use to appease the people around them.
    — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 5 July 2026
  • The fawning didn’t get him very far.
    — Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026
Definition of fawning
Verb
  • Similar to Egypt after its collapse earlier in the week, Switzerland exited fussing about the officiating.
    — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Yes, teaching by example is often a better way of handling a challenge than fussing about it.
    — Harriette Cole, Mercury News, 17 June 2026
Definition of fussing
Adjective
  • His usual complaint is that the network isn’t sycophantic enough.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Politicians in both parties are distancing themselves from an increasingly unpopular building boom faster than a sycophantic chatbot can flatter its user.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of sycophantic
Noun
  • Anthropic has conducted studies on its models’ undesirable behaviors, such as disempowerment and sycophancy.
    — Matthew Sun, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Anthropic's own researchers reached a similar conclusion in a paper presented at ICLR in 2024, finding that training on human preferences does not remove sycophancy and can encourage it, and that five leading assistants showed it consistently.
    — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of sycophancy
Verb
  • What distinguishes Camper, at least musically, is his deference to classic R&B signifiers without kowtowing to pastiche.
    — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
  • After all, the series largely avoids other topical issues of modern campus life, from freedom of speech restrictions to administrators kowtowing to autocracies.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026
Definition of kowtowing
Adjective
  • Both appeared on stage in character as VP Selina Meyer and her servile assistant, Gary Walsh.
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Unfortunately, Trump takes servile flattery as his due.
    — Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026
Definition of servile
Noun
  • The defense told jurors prosecutors are relying on the salacious affair to prove its case, arguing the decision to charge the former worship leader stemmed from a flawed investigation, rush to judgment and lack of direct evidence.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The 14 participating houses of worship span from Miami Shores to West Perrine and include a variety of denominations including Episcopal churches, United Methodist churches, one mosque and a handful of other Christian churches.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of worship
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.

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toady
toadying
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Cite this Entry

“Toadying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toadying. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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