Meanings
comparative more obsequious · superlative most obsequious
- Excessively eager and attentive to please or to obey instructions; fawning, subservient, servile.
[S]he complained pettishly of the heat and the flies and at length of the walk, and reduced Robert to the antics of an obsequious dog.
1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 1182 more examples
Personally I felt shy and uncomfortable at this obsequious adoration, and I read the same feeling in the faces of Lord John and Summerlee, but Challenger expanded like a flower in the sun.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘Those Were the Real Conquests’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 259Translation falls especially short of this conceit which carries the whole flamboyance of the Spanish language. It was intended as an obsequious flattery of the Condesa, and was untrue.
1927, Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, page 20Synonyms: fawning, ingratiating, servile, slavish, sycophantic, truckling, smarmy, asskissing
- archaicObedient; compliant with someone else's orders or wishes.
Our ladies were situated as well as it was possible; they had good servants, splendid rooms, obsequious attendants, and had become habituated to the country, so that the loss of the Count was not any thing of moment beyond the pleasure of his society;[…]
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 140Synonyms: bowsome, buxom, compliant, hearsome, morigerous, obedible, obedient, obsequent
- obsoleteOf or pertaining to obsequies, funereal.
[…] the ſuruiuer bound / In filliall obligation for ſome tearme To doe obſequious ſorrowe […]
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveExcessively eager and attentive to please or to obey instructions; fawning, subservient, servile.
adjectiveObedient; compliant with someone else's orders or wishes.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveattempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
adjectiveattentive in an ingratiating or servile manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁óp(i)
- Proto-Italic*op
- Latinob
- Latinob-
- Proto-Indo-European*sekʷ-
- Proto-Indo-European*sékʷetor
- Proto-Italic*sekʷōr
- Latinsequor
- Latinobsequor
- Latinobsequium
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃ed-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₃édosder.?
- Latinobsequiōsus
- Middle Englishobsequyous
- Englishobsequious
From Middle English obsequyous, from Latin obsequiōsus (“complaisant, obsequious”), from obsequium (“compliance”), from obsequor (“comply with, yield to”), from ob (“in the direction of, towards”) + sequor (“follow”) (cf. sequel).
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian сервилен, раболепен
- сервилен (servilen)fawning, subservient
- раболепен (rabolepen)fawning, subservient
- послушен (poslušen)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Catalan obsequiós
- obsequiósfawning, subservient
Chinese Mandarin 點頭哈腰的 /点头哈腰的, 阿諛奉承的 /阿谀奉承的
- 點頭哈腰的 /点头哈腰的 (diǎntóuhāyāo de)fawning, subservient
- 阿諛奉承的 /阿谀奉承的 (ēyúfèngchéng de)fawning, subservient
- 順從的 /顺从的 (shùncóng de)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Czech podlézavý
- podlézavýfawning, subservient
Danish servil, slesk
- servilfawning, subservient
- sleskfawning, subservient
- krybendefawning, subservient
- underdanigobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Dutch kruiperig, slaafs
- kruiperigfawning, subservient
- slaafsfawning, subservient
- onderworpenfawning, subservient
- onderdanigobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- gehoorzaamobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- volgzaamobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Finnish nöyristelevä, mielistelevä
- nöyristeleväfawning, subservient
- mielisteleväfawning, subservient
- liehakoivafawning, subservient
- kuuliainenobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
French obséquieux, soumis
- obséquieuxfawning, subservient
- soumisfawning, subservient
- obéissantobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- obséquieuxobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
German unterwürfig, hörig
- unterwürfigfawning, subservient
- hörigfawning, subservient
- servilfawning, subservient
- kriecherischfawning, subservient
- devotfawning, subservient
- gehorsamobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- folgsamobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- unterwürfigobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Greek γλύφτης
- γλύφτης (glýftis)fawning, subservient
Hebrew צייתן
- צייתן (tsaytán)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Hindi चापलूस, ठकुरसुहात
- चापलूस (cāplūs)fawning, subservient
- ठकुरसुहात (ṭhakursuhāt)fawning, subservient
- ख़ुशामदी (xuśāmdī)fawning, subservient
- चापलूस (cāplūs)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- ठकुरसुहात (ṭhakursuhāt)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- ख़ुशामदी (xuśāmdī)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Hungarian alázatos, szolgalelkű
- alázatosfawning, subservient
- szolgalelkűfawning, subservient
- engedelmesobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Irish spleách
- spleáchfawning, subservient
Latin obsequiōsus, vernīlis
- obsequiōsusfawning, subservient
- vernīlisfawning, subservient
- obsequiōsusobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Māori whakapatipati, patipati
- whakapatipatifawning, subservient
- patipatiobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Norwegian Bokmål servil, slesk
- servilfawning, subservient
- sleskfawning, subservient
- slesketefawning, subservient
- underdanigobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- servilobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Polish służalczy, czołobitny
- służalczyfawning, subservient
- czołobitnyobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- służalczyobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Portuguese obsequioso, submisso
- obsequiosofawning, subservient
- submissofawning, subservient
- obsequiosoobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Romanian servil, obsecvios
- servilfawning, subservient
- obsecviosfawning, subservient
- obsecviosobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Russian подобостра́стный, раболе́пный
- подобостра́стный (podobostrástnyj)fawning, subservient
- раболе́пный (rabolépnyj)fawning, subservient
- послу́шный (poslúšnyj)obedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Spanish sumiso, obsequioso
- sumisofawning, subservient
- obsequiosofawning, subservient
- servilobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- apatronadoobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- obsequiosoobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Swedish underdånig, krypande
- underdånigfawning, subservient
- krypandefawning, subservient
- inställsamobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- underdånigobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Ukrainian сервільний, раболіпний
- сервільний (servilʹnyj)fawning, subservient
- раболіпний (rabolipnyj)fawning, subservient
Vietnamese khúm núm, xun xoe
- khúm númfawning, subservient
- xun xoefawning, subservient
- vâng lờiobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
- dễ bảoobedient, compliant with someone else's orders
Cite this entry
obsequious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obsequious
“obsequious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obsequious. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “obsequious,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/obsequious.
Source: obsequious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.