timeserver

American  

[tahym-sur-ver] / ˈtaɪmˌsɜr vər /

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.

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timeserver British  

/ ˈtaɪmˌsɜːvə /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

• timeservingness
  noun
• timeserving
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of timeserver

First recorded in 1565–75; time + server

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

timeserver

The problem is bucked to Carlton-Browne of Miscellaneous Territories, a timeserver whose troutlike face mirrors his intelligence.

From Time Magazine Archive

Many Catholic observers, nonetheless, believe Cardinal Innitzer is no timeserver but a sincere, bewildered wrong-guesser who believed that Catholicism could honestly come to terms with Hitlerism.

From Time Magazine Archive

He was warned by friends, and at last officially told that he could not be retained in the department if he persisted in stigmatizing its chief as a fool, a timeserver, no matter what.

From Reminiscences, 1819-1899 by Julia Ward Howe

If ever there was one, he was a timeserver.

From The Reign of Henry the Eighth, Volume 1 (of 3) by James Anthony Froude

"But Captain Solis is a nobody ... a timeserver."

From The Underdogs, a Story of the Mexican Revolution by E. (Enrique) Munguía

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