obsequious
ub-SEE-kwee-us · adjective
Excessively eager to obey, flatter, or serve someone powerful.
Memory connection
Picture “obey—seek we”
A worker follows the boss everywhere, asking, ‘Whose approval do we seek?’ and agreeing with every word before it is finished.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
The critic disliked the interviewer’s obsequious praise of the celebrity.
His obsequious manner disappeared as soon as the director left the room.
Obsequious is strongly negative. It implies that deference has become servile, insincere, or motivated by a desire for favor.
Common patterns
- obsequious manner
- obsequious praise
- sound obsequious
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
What makes praise obsequious?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.