toady

1 of 2

noun

ˈtō-dē 

plural toadies

: one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant

toady

2 of 2

verb

toadied; toadying

intransitive verb

: to behave as a toady : engage in sycophancy

toadyism

ˈtō-dē-ˌi-zəm 

noun

Did you know?

We can thank old-time toadeaters for toady. In 17th-century Europe, a toadeater was a showman's assistant whose job was to make the boss look good. The toadeater would eat (or pretend to eat) what were supposed to be poisonous toads. The charlatan in charge would then "save" the toad-afflicted assistant by expelling the poison. It's little wonder that such assistants became symbolic of extreme subservience, and that toadeater became a word for any obsequious underling. By the early 1800s, it had been shortened and altered to toady, our current term for a servile self-seeker. By the mid-1800s, toady was also being used as a verb meaning "to engage in sycophancy."

Synonyms

Noun

• apple-polisher
• bootlicker
• brownnoser
• fawner
• flunky
• flunkey
• flunkie
• lickspittle
• suck-up
• sycophant

Verb

• apple-polish
• bootlick
• fawn
• fuss
• kowtow
• suck (up)
• truckle

Choose the Right Synonym for toady

Noun

parasite, sycophant, toady, leech, sponge mean a usually obsequious flatterer or self-seeker.

parasite applies to one who clings to a person of wealth, power, or influence or is useless to society.

a jet-setter with an entourage of parasites

sycophant adds to this a strong suggestion of fawning, flattery, or adulation.

a powerful prince surrounded by sycophants

toady emphasizes the servility and snobbery of the self-seeker.

cultivated leaders of society and became their toady

leech stresses persistence in clinging to or bleeding another for one's own advantage.

a leech living off his family and friends

sponge stresses the parasitic laziness, dependence, and opportunism of the cadger.

a shiftless sponge, always looking for a handout

Verb

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior.

fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

waiters fawning over a celebrity

toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

toadying to his boss

truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior.

truckling to a powerful lobbyist

cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility.

a cringing sycophant

cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people.

cowering before a bully

Examples of toady in a Sentence

Noun

She's a real toady to the boss.

no one liked the office toady, who spent most of her time complimenting the boss on what a great job he was doing

Verb

He's always toadying to the boss.

a satirical novel about an amoral go-getter who toadies his way to the top of the corporate ladder

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Alfred Molina, Ving Rhames, Toby Jones, and Paul Walter Hauser all drop by to add their touches to an underworld majordomo, a dogged BPD Special Ops officer, a political toady and Boston’s single dumbest thug, respectively. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 1 Aug. 2024

Even meteorologists would face an uncertain future, given that Project 2025 also calls for replacing tens of thousands of federal workers with political toadies beholden only to the White House. —Pat Beall, Orlando Sentinel, 28 July 2024

Verb

Hamlet’s toadying friends, the hangers-on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are Izzard’s own talking hands, popping up to face her like a pair of Muppets. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Feb. 2024

This is the aspect of his production that made his reputation but is sometimes denigrated as superficial and toadying. —Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 20 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening & alteration from toadeater

First Known Use

Noun

1826, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1859, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

toady

1 of 2 noun

ˈtōd-ē 

plural toadies

: a person who flatters another in the hope of receiving favors

toady

2 of 2 verb

toadied; toadying

: to behave like a toady

toadyism

-ē-ˌiz-əm 

noun