obsequious

(ŏb-sē'kwē-əs, əb-)
adj.
Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning.

[Middle English, from Latin obsequiōsus, from obsequium, compliance, from obsequī, to comply : ob-, to; see ob- + sequī, to follow.]

obsequiously ob·se'qui·ous·ly adv.
obsequiousness ob·se'qui·ous·ness n.

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Maureen Dowd opines that the only reason President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court is the fact that she is a crony of his:

"W.'s case for her elevation is their closeness, because she is, as Alexander Hamilton put it, one of the 'obsequious instruments of his pleasure.' "

Link: The Trouble With Harry

Posted October 16, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Excessively eager to serve or obey: menial, servile, slavish, subservient. See over/under.

adj

Definition: groveling, submissive
Antonyms: arrogant, assertive, brazen, confident, domineering, presumptuous

IN BRIEF: Too ready to serve.

His obsequious attendance soon wore on my nerves.

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For a list of words related to obsequious, see:

• Submissive, Uncertain, or Tentative

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See words rhyming with "obsequious."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Obsequious.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - slesk, servil, underdanig, krybende

Nederlands (Dutch)
onderdanig, onderworpen, gehoorzaam

Français (French)
adj. - obséquieux, servile

Deutsch (German)
adj. - unterwürfig

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - δουλοπρεπής, χαμερπής

Italiano (Italian)
ossequioso, servile

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - servil

Русский (Russian)
подобострастный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - obsequioso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - inställsam, krypande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
谄媚的, 顺从的, 奉承的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 諂媚的, 順從的, 奉承的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 아첨하는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - こびへつらう, 追従的な, 卑屈な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) خاضع, متذلل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מתרפס, להוט לשרת‬

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