toadying 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of toadyingnext
as in grovelling

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

toadying

2 of 3

noun

as in fawning

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toadying
  1. obsequious
  2. sycophancy
  3. sycophantic
  4. worship
  5. adoration
  6. servile
  7. idolatry
  8. subservient
Adjective
  • What about her incessantly supportive mother (Rosemarie DeWitt) or her obsequious assistant (Miles Gutierrez-Riley)?
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Those words were the theme for the entire stay, from the friendly but not obsequious doormen, to the at-the-ready house car (a hybrid Bentley SUV, naturally), to the peaceful, never-overcrowded Hanover Square directly across the street.
    Laura Ratliff, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2024
Definition of obsequious
Noun
  • Other tests showed that models can show what’s called a sycophancy bias — the tendency of an LLM to backpedal on a correct answer to please the user.
    Stephen Ornes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Yeah, there is nothing but sycophancy and repulsing his enemies.
    Leah Feiger, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
Definition of sycophancy
Adjective
  • Unlike other, sycophantic portions of right-wing media, Kirk isn’t simply a hanger-on to the conservative elite.
    Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Driver begins the show unsteadily; his early scenes with Nancy and with Jimmy (Keith Nobbs), a sycophantic assistant, lack confidence and dimension.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2024
Definition of sycophantic
Noun
  • This could be a place of worship, a local botanical garden, a quiet hiking trail—or even a cozy spot at home with candles and comfortable seating.
    Mark Travers, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
  • With time, voters have become more skeptical of what famous people say about politics and celebrity worship has given way to critiques.
    Brea Baker, refinery29.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Definition of worship
Noun
  • The prevailing response to the Australian act’s third album has thus far been a general adoration for and excitement about the way its dozen tracks capture the bright sound and breezy spirit of the ’90s rave world.
    Katie Bain, Billboard, 18 Oct. 2024
  • If the first film expressed a fervent but surface-level appreciation for the outcast-character dramas of Martin Scorsese, this second one betrays not even a superficial adoration of the Hollywood musicals of old.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 11 Oct. 2024
Definition of adoration
Adjective
  • His co-stars, like Will Ferrell’s savage Mugatu, Owen Wilson’s stoner hottie Hansel, and Nathan Lee Graham’s servile Todd — all so precise and well-defined in the original’s ravelike milieu — are doomed to retrace their old steps here.
    Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
  • These officials could, in turn, redistribute some of their private goods among their own servile lieutenants, but the monarch retained ultimate power to grant or revoke their privileged status.
    Serhiy Kudelia, Foreign Affairs, 27 Feb. 2014
Definition of servile
Noun
  • But as a Christian, the bigger threat in the U.S. now seems to be Evangelical idolatry—this tendency of many Christians to turn a political candidate into an idol, particularly one who has proven himself so thoroughly unfit as Donald Trump.
    Donovan McAbee, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024
  • People begin drifting to certain games or consoles, staring intently at a wall of idolatry.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2024
Definition of idolatry
Adjective
  • This is a consequence of complaints about the subservient and obliging female voices of Sky and, earlier, of Siri and Alexa.
    Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
  • And the subservient leadership training that the program went through over the summer — a three-day, approximately five-hour course that Jeremiah, who has been at the school for 21 years, insisted his coaches and players take — proved crucial amid this fall’s adversity.
    Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of subservient
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near toadying

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 22 Nov. 2024.

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