variants
also flunkey
or flunkie
1
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
since I'm just the flunky who files his papers, I've no idea where he is
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sycophant
a person who flatters another in order to get ahead
a rock star who saw through the phonies and the flunkies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of flunky
By quieting the clamor among the offended Giants, Mays was not acting as a flunky for his white manager.
—
Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
Brennan’s flunkies created a fake online profile to access the network used by the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose Democratic members were at the time investigating the CIA’s torture program.
—Becket Adams, National Review, 9 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Aram Goudsouzian / Made By History, TIME, 25 June 2024
One fib could land him in jail with the rest of his flunkies.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
Lou’s father runs the town, sort of like a low-level mobster in a mob that only employs flunkies and toadies with nothing better to do.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Mar. 2024
Brennan’s flunkies created a fake online profile to access the network used by the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose Democratic members were at the time investigating the CIA’s torture program.
—Becket Adams, National Review, 9 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for flunky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flunky
Noun
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Stories of haughty people scheming and plucky servants improving alarm clocks attract smaller audiences than, say, trench warfare.—
Elle Carroll,
Vulture,
11 Aug. 2025
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Well, Agnes is aware that Mrs. Winterton used to be a servant.—
Maureen Lee Lenker Published,
EW.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
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This is not the summer Trump and his sycophants had planned.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
22 July 2025
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He’s surrounded mostly by true believers and sycophants and able to engage somewhat freely in various forms of government dismantling and corruption.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
22 July 2025
Noun
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Blaming Christos for a substation outage, The Dama’s lackey gassed the lot of ’em and bashed in their heads.—
Charlie Mason,
TVLine,
1 June 2025
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Outside of one good scene between Clark and Lois, almost every frame is constantly packed with characters, whether this is the (admittedly very funny) Justice Gang (Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi’s scene-stealing Mister Terrific) or Lex and his lackeys.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Noun
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Such as holding court, choosing your sobriquet, and naming imbecilic lickspittles to our Kingsguard.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
7 July 2024
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What happened to the idea that art and culture should be a contemptuous refuge from the mainstream, as opposed to this lickspittle, running dog accommodation to the mainstream?—
Billboard Staff,
Billboard,
3 June 2022
Noun
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Paul Dean, a former acting assistant secretary of State who oversaw arms control and led the U.S. delegation to the New START implementation body, emphasized that the treaty’s enforcement measures also keep the world a safer place.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
15 Aug. 2025
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How’s Nick Rolovich fitting in as Cal’s senior offensive assistant?—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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But the joke’s on us — Republican senators, who are the only players with any real power to stop them, have simply decided not to, all so that President Camacho can play at government with his favorite suck-ups.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2025
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Sara Fischer, Dave Lawler Dec 23, 2024 - Politics & Policy Media's suck-up moment Fearing political retribution and strained by new business challenges, media companies that once covered President-elect Trump with skepticism — and in many cases, disdain — are reconsidering their approach.—
Sara Fischer,
Axios,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Images of toadies buttering up an emperor come to mind.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
11 July 2025
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Courtesy of Lucasfilm On an isolated farm at the outer reaches of a fascist empire, a mid-level government toady interrogates his victims.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Below are some of the listening options for fans: Apple Podcasts.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
13 Aug. 2025
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Taylor Swift album announcement sparks fan buzz The first two videos – posted on Aug. 11 and 12 – have racked up 20 million views and 9 million views, respectively on X.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flunky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flunky. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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