obsequious

American  

[uhb-see-kwee-uhs] / əbˈsi kwi əs /

adjective

1. characterized by or showing servile obedience and excessive eagerness to please; fawning; ingratiating.

   an obsequious bow;

   obsequious servants.

   Synonyms:

   submissive, deferential, subservient, servile, oleaginous, flattering

2. obedient; dutiful.

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obsequious British  

/ əbˈsiːkwɪəs /

adjective

1. obedient or attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner

2. rare submissive or compliant

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Related Words

See servile.

Other Word Forms

• obsequiously
  adverb
• obsequiousness
  noun
• overobsequious
  adjective
• overobsequiously
  adverb
• unobsequious
  adjective
• unobsequiously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of obsequious

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin obsequiōsus, equivalent to obsequi(um) “compliance,” derivative of obsequ(ī) “to comply with” (equivalent to ob- + sequī “to follow”) + -ium + -ōsus; see ob-, -ium, -ous

Explanation

If you disapprove of the overly submissive way someone is acting — like the teacher's pet or a celebrity's assistant — call them by the formal adjective obsequious. There are many words in the English language for a person or an action that is overly obedient and submissive. Obsequious people are usually not being genuine; they resort to flattery and other fawning ways to stay in the good graces of authority figures. An obsequious person can be called a bootlicker, a brownnoser or a toady. You can also say that someone gives an obsequious bow, a gesture that means, "your wish is my command."

Example Sentences

A top-ranked member — her friend Lauren Salzman — invited Edmondson to Albany, where she was inducted into “Dominus Obsequious Sororium,” a secretive women’s subgroup.

From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2019

According to criminal indictments and reports from former members, a sub-organization — a kind of cult-within-a-cult — was founded called Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or DOS, which roughly translates to “lord over the obedient female companions.”

From Salon • Jul. 18, 2018

Obsequious devotion to something that does not yet exist.

From The Verge • Aug. 5, 2015

Obsequious waiters serve tea and cookies for occasional visitors.

From New York Times • Jan. 9, 2012

Obsequious servants, who had been accustomed in feudal Europe to regard their masters as almost beings of a superior order, still looked up to them in the same reverential service.

From Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam by Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)