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
  • Like all other generative chatbots, its replies are sycophantic.
    — Jill Duffy, PC Magazine, 17 June 2026
  • In an interview with Mostly Human spotted by MacRumors, Craig Federighi said Apple’s new Siri won’t act all sycophantic like chatbots made by OpenAI, Google, and others.
    — Thomas Ricker, The Verge, 12 June 2026
Definition of sycophantic
Noun
  • The conversations on stage ranged from how to tackle a growing AI divide between the global north and the global south to technical solutions for mitigating AI risks like models engaging in deception and sycophancy.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 9 July 2026
  • One of the main culprits is the models’ propensity for sycophancy.
    — Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 18 June 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
  • Yet behind the festive atmosphere lies a tradition rooted in the worship of deities and rituals of protection.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
  • Jacob is also a singer-songwriter and leads the synagogue’s folk-rock worship band, JewGrass Revival.
    — Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 16 July 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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toadying
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Cite this Entry

“Toadying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toadying. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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