timeserver

[tahym-sur-ver]

noun

1. a person who shapes their conduct to conform to the opinions of the time or of persons in power, especially for selfish ends.

timeserver

/ ˈtaɪmˌsɜːvə /

noun

1. a person who compromises and changes his or her opinions, way of life, etc, to suit the current fashions

Other Word Forms

• timeserving adjective
• timeservingness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of timeserver¹

First recorded in 1565–75; time + server

Example Sentences

Or, resenting managements that exploit them but don’t reward them, they resolve to join the legion of timeservers and clock-watchers.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the adults are gone, and their replacements are mainly sycophants and timeservers who are happy to tell Trump that 2+2=22.

Read more on Washington Post

There remains a hapless amiability about these comedic timeservers, even if it does feel as if, laugh-wise, we are stranded in 1988.

Read more on The Guardian

Then, I wot the renegade Oswald, and sycophants and timeservers generally, will thrive.

Read more on Project Gutenberg

I'm talking, of course, about the assorted villains and hapless timeservers in Armando Iannucci's satirical TV show The Thick of It.

Read more on The Guardian

Related Words

• carpetbagger