Definitions of obsequious

1.   Obsequiously.

2.   Meanly submissive to the will of another; servile; humble to excess.

3.   attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; " obsequious shop assistants"

4.   Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted.

5.   Of or pertaining to obsequies; funereal.

6.   Meanly submissive; compliant; cringing.

7.   Compliant to excess: meanly condescending.

8.   Promptly obedient or compliant to the will of another; compliant to excess; meanly or servilely condescending.

9.   Meanly submissive or compliant.

10.   Readily compliant; meanly condescending; servilely compliant.

11.   attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

12.   Servilely or meanly attentive; compliant to excess; cringing; fawning; as, obsequious flatterer, parasite.

13.   Obsequiousness.

Antonyms for obsequious

defiant, self-assertive, fierce, go-getting, unruly, in-your-face, disobedient, aggressive, militant, rebellious, recusant, self-asserting, contumacious, froward, sincere, obstreperous, rebel, unsubmissive, balky, pushy, Incompliant, restive, ungovernable, contrary, wayward, ambitious, insubordinate, untoward, willful, unservile, assertive, recalcitrant, intractable, refractory, enterprising.

Quotes of obsequious

1. We weren't going to play the show -biz game, and be obsequious – Neil Innes

2. Those men are most apt to be obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home. – Washington Irving

Usage examples for obsequious

1. “ " Yes, sir," said the obsequious butler. ” – The Hampstead Mystery by John R. Watson

2. “ I, also, was furnished with a social secretary, an obsequious but very wise little man, who took charge of all my affairs outside my chemical work. ” – City of Endless Night by Milo Hastings

3. “ Shuttle and Weaver's obsequious message of apologies and hopes. ” – Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Samuel Warren

4. “ I watched as the dark- suited Japanese businessmen filed past, none with Noda's sense of style, and noticed that several seemed acquainted with him, pausing to offer obsequious bows. ” – The Samurai Strategy by Thomas Hoover

5. “ He brought the proprietor, an obsequious little German who, on learning my name, repeated it in every sentence. ” – The Complete PG Edition of The Works of Winston Churchill by Winston Churchill

6. “ The commissioner, with an obsequious wriggle, departed on his mission. ” –  by

7. “ For a while, Cromwell listened or appeared to listen with half an ear only, his attention divided between the speaker and a map which the obsequious Pownall had placed on the table. ” – A Little Wizard by Stanley J. Weyman

8. “ " Your most obedient, sir," commenced that gentleman, in a subdued and obsequious manner, plucking off his hat the instant that he saw Titmouse. ” – Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Samuel Warren

9. “ The freedman entered his master's palace neither saluted nor welcomed by the once obsequious slaves in the outer lodge. ” – Antonina by Wilkie Collins

10. “ Selim was most obsequious and seemed ready to do everything for my comfort. ” – Paul Patoff by F. Marion Crawford

11. “ The officer of the law, who a few minutes before had been his servant, fee- bound, obsequious took on another shape. ” – Ovington's Bank by Stanley J. Weyman

12. “ I wanted the obsequious servants, who ran at my bidding, and whose respectful manner was a homage I loved to exact. ” – That Boy Of Norcott's by Charles James Lever

13. “ As soon as accident had put me in full possession of the truth on this head, I was no longer thus foolishly obsequious ” – Jane Talbot by Charles Brockden Brown

14. “ Mr. Bewicke and his soldier rode with us: the latter a dark, lean- faced, unwholesome- looking man, unable, like so many of his countrymen, to grow any hair on his face- an obsequious individual too, inspiring little trust; below his long blue cloak he wore brown riding- boots, embroidered with orange, and fastening up the back with orange- thread buttons. ” – In the Tail of the Peacock by Isabel Savory

15. “ We'll tax the Nation high, the City higher, They are our Friends, our most obsequious Slaves, Our Dogs to fetch and carry, our very Asses- Lov. ” – The Works of Aphra Behn, Vol. I (of 6) by Aphra Behn

16. “ The inside passenger made a yet more obsequious surrender. ” – Stingaree by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung

17. “ Another Oriental, but not as the obsequious Hiram. ” – A Victor of Salamis by William Stearns Davis

18. “ It chanced to be the room with the great glass cases, full of fine gowns and laces, where she had been dressed by the obsequious attendants on the previous day. ” – Between Whiles by Helen Hunt Jackson

19. “ Opposite him stood the worthy steward, with the old- fashioned, scrupulously obsequious and infallibly respectful homage of a former generation writ large on every feature of his bronzed countenance. ” – A Hungarian Nabob by Maurus Jókai

20. “ " Certainly, my Lady," replied the obsequious Mr. Shagg, " anything your Ladyship pleases; your Ladyship can have any hammer- cloth you like; and I have accordingly brought patterns of the very newest fashions for your Ladyship to make choice. ” – Marriage by Susan Edmonstone Ferrier