as in fussing
to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior
a satirical novel about an amoral go-getter who toadies his way to the top of the corporate ladder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in grovelling
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in fawning
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toadying
Verb
-
And power structures everywhere reinforce, reward even require fawning.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025 -
But this newsletter is more focused on how Trump and his fawning functionaries speak about and for him.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Even as tutor modes are refined and improved, students have to actively select that mode and, for now, also have to play along, deftly providing context and guiding the chatbot away from worthless, low-level questions or sycophancy.—
Brian W. Stone,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But there is another issue that is more subtle: sycophancy.—
Bernardo Martinez,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This was the mid 1980s and tandem skydiving hadn’t been popularized yet, so his father, Roger, adjusted accordingly by stuffing carpet padding into the leg pads to stop him from fussing.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The Texas State Legislature was even more obsequious, approving a $15 million incentive package in 2013.—
Guthrie Scrimgeour,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2025
-
Softening the strongman The film starts with the loyal and somewhat obsequious journalist Pavel Zarubin interviewing Putin at the end of his long working day in the Kremlin, at 1:30 a.m.—
Peter Rutland,
The Conversation,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Eaton has been bringing unique worship experiences to a variety of churches since 2010.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
-
In January 2025, the FTC prohibited Mobilewalla from selling or using location data collected near sensitive sites, including reproductive health clinics, places of worship and military bases.—
Jodi Daniels,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The secretary accused the AAP of kowtowing to corporate benefactors while ignoring the clear evidence that such vaccines are safe for children and can prevent serious illness.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Chris Chambers’ older brother Eyeball, one of Ace’s sycophantic followers, was played by Bradley Gregg.—
Sezin Devi Koehler September 1,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
This process is what has created sycophantic AI models, such as variations of GPT-4o, over the past year.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Over the past couple of months, the doting couple has continued to engage in digital PDA, commenting on one another’s posts and sharing their adoration for each other via interviews.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Acutis was known to spend hours in prayer before the Eucharist each day, a practice known as Eucharistic adoration.—
Jessie Wardarski,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Toadying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toadying. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share