obsequiousness
Americannoun
Usage
What is obsequiousness? Obsequiousness is the act of making your wishes secondary to someone else’s wishes, as in The loyal butler was noted for his undying obsequiousness to his employer. Obsequiousness describes a situation in which a person obediently serves someone else and is eager to please them. Obsequiousness is not a commonly used word. People instead use words with similar meanings (and easier spellings), such as devotion, veneration, deference, or submission. The word obsequiousness comes from the adjective obsequious, which describes someone demonstrating obedience and eagerness to please, as in The duchess had a team of obsequious servants. Example: Selvon’s obsequiousness to the decadent earl ensured his long employment as a butler.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obsequiousness
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is principally effected by Obsequiousness, and an Agreeableness of Tempers.
From Colloquies of Erasmus, Volume I. by Erasmus, Desiderius
Obsequiousness, servility, cupidity roused by the prevailing smell of money.
From Man and Superman by Shaw, Bernard
One took one's gun, and led the way, with Obsequiousness.
From The Ebb-Tide by Osbourne, Lloyd
On which account, I think, I have a just Pretence to declare myself, with profound Obsequiousness, Your Lordship's Most humble, Most devoted and Most oblig'd Servant, Pier.
From Observations on the Florid Song or Sentiments on the Ancient and Modern Singers by Galliard, John Ernest
One took one’s gun, and led the way, with Obsequiousness.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Stevenson, Robert Louis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
