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
  • 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
  • To cede all of that ground to the executive, and to do so in such an obsequious way, is shameful.
    — KEN BURNS, Rolling Stone, 19 May 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
  • By tweaking its settings, researchers can make a model upbeat or negative, honest or sycophantic.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Like all other generative chatbots, its replies are sycophantic.
    — Jill Duffy, PC Magazine, 17 June 2026
Definition of sycophantic
Noun
  • 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
  • Until very recently, this sycophancy would have been obviously disqualifying for the role.
    — Quinta Jurecic, The Atlantic, 16 July 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
  • Unfortunately, Trump takes servile flattery as his due.
    — Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of servile
Noun
  • The period, which usually falls between July and August, is dedicated to the worship of Hindu god Lord Shiva and is marked by fasting, prayers and colorful monsoon festivals across India.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Central Synagogue vowed to not allow hatred to interrupt its call to worship.
    — Allen Devlin, CBS News, 16 Aug. 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
toadyish
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Cite this Entry

“Toadying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toadying. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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