as in subordinate
disapproving
too eager to help or obey someone important
She's constantly followed by obsequious assistants who will do anything she tells them to.
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Recent Examples of obsequious
At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.
—
John Roy, Vulture, 8 May 2025
And the obsequious fealty shown to him by the Republican Party reinforces why a president running amok should never have this much power again.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
Republicans insist Zelenskyy hasn’t been sufficiently obsequious to the United States, which is a point Vance hammered.
—The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 5 Mar. 2025
The set’s background changed to a gaudy gold, Stewart played the role of an obsequious and cowed host who is terrified of saying the wrong thing on air (not entirely unlike how his former TDS colleague Stephen Colbert would play a right-wing character on the show).
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obsequious
John Roy, Vulture, 8 May 2025
And the obsequious fealty shown to him by the Republican Party reinforces why a president running amok should never have this much power again.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
Republicans insist Zelenskyy hasn’t been sufficiently obsequious to the United States, which is a point Vance hammered.
—The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 5 Mar. 2025
The set’s background changed to a gaudy gold, Stewart played the role of an obsequious and cowed host who is terrified of saying the wrong thing on air (not entirely unlike how his former TDS colleague Stephen Colbert would play a right-wing character on the show).
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obsequious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obsequious
Adjective
-
Yasuda ordered his subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel Tatsusaburo Suzuki, to prepare a report on the feasibility of a uranium project in Japan.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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Indeed, allowing men but not women to have multiple spouses is clearly unequal and entwined with patriarchal ideology that positions women as subordinate or inferior to men.—
David W. Lawson,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There’s a difference, school leaders said, between building the confidence of girls, whom society expects to be obedient and agreeable, and building the confidence of boys, who get different societal messages.—
Melanie Asmar,
Denver Post,
5 Oct. 2025
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The Tyrell Corporation, a powerful company that created the replicants and profits from sending them to work on distant colonies, sees them as nothing more than obedient workers.—
Claire A. Simmers,
The Conversation,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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When Mercury and Mars move into adventurous Sagittarius and your dutiful sixth house, the mood shifts toward productivity and purification.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
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What Hulu did years ago with its Castle Rock series, remixing different threads across King’s universe with a playful wink, Welcome to Derry approaches with a dutiful studiousness that drains it of fun.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Bahrain is ruled by Sunnis and has a mostly Shiite population permanently restless over its servile condition.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
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His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obsequious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obsequious. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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