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obsequious

[ uhb-see-kwee-uhs ]
/ əbˈsi kwi əs /
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See synonyms for: obsequious / obsequiously / obsequiousness on Thesaurus.com
adjective
characterized by or showing servile obedience and excessive eagerness to please; fawning; ingratiating: an obsequious bow;obsequious servants.
obedient; dutiful.

OTHER WORDS FOR obsequious

1 cringing, flattering, grovelling, kowtowing, obeisant, oleaginous, servile, subservient, sycophantic, sycophantish, toadying, toadyish.
2 deferential, submissive.
See synonyms for obsequious on Thesaurus.com
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Origin of obsequious

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin obsequiōsus, equivalent to obsequi(um) “compliance,” derivative of obsequ(ī) “to comply with” (equivalent to ob- + sequī “to follow”) + -ium + -ōsus; see ob-, -ium, -ous

synonym study for obsequious

1. See servile.

OTHER WORDS FROM obsequious

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH obsequious

obsequies, obsequious

Words nearby obsequious

obsecrate, obsequence, obsequent, obsequent stream, obsequies, obsequious, obsequiousness, obsequy, observable, observance, observant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to obsequious

abject, beggarly, brown-nosing, complacent, compliable, compliant, cringing, crouching, deferential, enslaved, fawning, flattering, ingratiating, kowtowing, menial, obeisant, oily, parasitic, parasitical, prostrate

How to use obsequious in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for obsequious

obsequious
/ (əbˈsiːkwɪəs) /
adjective
obedient or attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner
rare submissive or compliant

Derived forms of obsequious

obsequiously, adverbobsequiousness, noun

Word Origin for obsequious

C15: from Latin obsequiōsus compliant, from obsequium compliance, from obsequi to follow, from ob- to + sequi to follow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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