as in obsequious
Related Words
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Dissimilar Words
as in fawning
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Adjective
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Media analysts said Hegseth was trying to replace independent observers with obsequious pro-Trump voices.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026 -
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
Noun
-
According to Gaiani, drinking or using drugs before social situations is a major sign that your teen may be using alcohol to cope with fawning and to feel more comfortable or confident.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Your son is fussing in his car seat.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Emma looked around, confused at the adults fussing around him and too young, perhaps, to grasp the severity of the scene.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In a lengthy and apologetic statement, Altman claimed that OpenAI was now altering the terms of its Pentagon deal to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI systems to surveil US citizens, exhibiting a degree of people-pleasing normally witnessed in its sycophantic chatbots.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
5 Mar. 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Ignore the sycophancy, slurs, and slop, and there is very little—but still enough to make one wonder.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
As mentioned at the start of this discussion, the usual assumptions are that either the user tells the AI to do so, or the AI opts to proceed in that direction due to being shaped by AI makers toward exercising sycophancy.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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The public demand was made based on a social media post from right-wing journalist Laura Loomer, who pointed to a video in which Rice vowed to hold companies accountable for kowtowing to Trump if Democrats regain power in the federal government.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
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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
Noun
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The revolutionary pharoah builds a great city and reduces spiritual chaos by focusing on a single-minded form of worship.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
No more climate-change worship.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Toadying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toadying. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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