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The word abject emphasizes a very bad situation or quality, thereby making it even worse.
An acolyte is someone who serves a leader as a devoted assistant or believes in the leader’s ideas.
Adulation is praise and admiration for someone that includes more than they deserve, usually for the purposes of flattery.
If you are amenable to doing something, you willingly accept it without arguing.
An autonomous person makes their own decisions without being influenced by anyone else; an autonomous country or organization is independent and has the power to govern itself.
Blandishments are words or actions that are pleasant and complimentary, intended to persuade someone to do something via a use of flattery.
Someone who is contumacious is purposely stubborn, contrary, or disobedient.
If you behave with deference towards someone, you show them respect and accept their opinions or decisions, especially because they have an important position.
A dissident is someone who disagrees publicly with a government, especially in a country where this is not allowed.
To fawn over someone is to be extremely nice to them in an insincere way because you want them to like you or give you something.
If someone is fractious, they are easily upset or annoyed over unimportant things.
Praise, an apology, or gratitude is fulsome if it is so exaggerated and elaborate that it does not seem sincere.
It is a common practice in some churches to bend the knee or genuflect before an altar.
Someone who is incorrigible has bad habits or does bad things and is unlikely to ever change; this word is often used in a humorous way.
If people try to ingratiate themselves with you, they try to get your approval by doing or saying things that they think will please you.
Someone who is obdurate is stubborn, unreasonable, or uncontrollable; hence, they simply refuse to change their behavior, actions, or beliefs to fit any situation whatsoever.
Obeisance is respect and obedience shown to someone or something, expressed by bowing or some other humble gesture.
Someone who is obstreperous is noisy, unruly, and difficult to control.
A recalcitrant animal or person is difficult to control and refuses to obey orders—even after stiff punishment.
Refractory people deliberately don’t obey someone in authority and so are difficult to deal with or control.
A restive person is not willing or able to keep still or be patient because they are bored or dissatisfied with something; consequently, they are becoming difficult to control.
If you say that someone is servile, you don’t respect them because they are too obedient, too agreeable, and too willing to do anything for another person.
If you are subservient, you are too eager and willing to do what other people want and often put your own wishes aside.
Sycophants praise people in authority or those who have considerable influence in order to seek some favor from them in return.
An unctuous person acts in an overly deceptive manner that is obviously insincere because they want to convince you of something.
Adj.
obsequious
ob-SEE-kwee-uhs
Context
Igor’s endless bowing, sickly smiles, and other obsequious ways of behaving towards the master of the house annoyed other servants. They all knew that Igor was merely trying to win favor by behaving with such overly dutiful, too respectful, and obsequious motions. Igor rushed upstairs at dawn to make sure that his employer’s coffee was as hot as he wished, and he also hung upon every request with obsequious, flattering, and simply excessively detailed attention.
Quiz:Try again!
When is someone acting in an obsequious way?
When that person works in a position of service.
When that person focuses on his or her own advancement.
When that person tries overly hard to please another.
SuspiciousObserving of GloriousEquality Despite the fact that the poor man's son was clearly a genius compared to the rich man's stupid son, the poor man kept observing that the rich man's son's intelligence was as glorious as his own son's; this suspiciousobserving of gloriousequality was nothing but obsequious because the poor man needed the rich man's money.
Examples
Dogs are dependent on us to the point of being obsequious, but cats seem to be constantly reevaluating the merits of our relationship, as well as their role in domestic life.
—
The New Yorker
I had staked all on Gussie making a favorable impression on his hostess, basing my confidence on the fact that he was one of those timid, obsequious, teacup-passing, thin-bread-and-butter-offering, yes-men whom women of my Aunt Dahlia's type nearly always like at first sight.
—
P.G. Wodehouse, English author and humorist, from _Right Ho, Jeeves_
