dfoww
Obsequious
Definition:
1. showing too great a willingness to serve or obey; fawning
2. excessively submissive; overly obedient
If you disapprove of the overly submissive way someone is acting — like the teacher’s pet or a celebrity’s assistant — call them by the formal adjective obsequious.
Obsequious people are usually not being genuine; they resort to flattery and other fawning ways to stay in the good graces of authority figures.
An obsequious person can be called a bootlicker, a brownnoser or a toady.
Part of Speech (POS)
adjective
I’ll use it in a sentence:
● Benjamin’s fawning an obsequious loyalty to his manager is quite annoying.
● The salesman’s sycophantic, wheedling, obsequious flattery, was a bit off-putting.
● The obsequious waitress was convivial and eager to satisfy our requests.
● Susan’s obsequious roommate Jessica kept her room clean, and anxiously volunteered to do additional household chores.
● Judge Joe Brown was not swayed by the obsequious defendant’s perfidious testimony.
You can change a word you really want to use into a different part of speech by adding a suffix to the word. For example, if you want to use the word obsequious in a different part of speech, what suffix would you add to this word to make it an adverb, and a noun? Please provide your answers below in the comment section. (Please review dfoww basic rules of grammar – Adverbs). *At the bottom of the page, you’ll find a search bar. Just type in the word adverb and then press the enter or go button on your keypad. Our Adverb workshop will then appear.
dfoww will teach workshops in our word of the day section on the words: sycophantic and wheedling, sometime in October 2019.
Now it’s your turn, on a sheet of paper or in the comment section below, write a few sentences using the word: obsequious.
Tip: Use the word during a conversation today. The more you familiarize yourself with this word, by consistently incorporating it in your vocabulary and writing, the easier it will be to remember the word. Figuratively speaking, you’ll own the word.
We hope you enjoyed this workshop!