toady — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A sycophant who flatters others to gain personal advantage, or an obsequious, servile lackey or minion.

   Usage

   • Derogatory

   Examples

   More examples (3)

   "But who is she, can you tell me?" / "Some fair-skinned speculation of old Montreville's, I suppose, that she has got either to toady herself, or take in some of her black friends with.—Is it possible you have never heard of old Mother Montreville?"

   Before I had been standing at the window five minutes, they somehow conveyed to me that they were all toadies and humbugs, but that each of them pretended not to know that the others were toadies and humbugs: because the admission that he or she did know it, would have made him or her out to be a toady and a humbug.

   [T]he appearance of only three coaches, each drawn by four horses, was rather trying for poor Lady Scott. They contained Mrs Coutts – her future lord the Duke of St Albans – one of his Grace's sisters – a dame de compagnie (vulgarly styled a Toady)

   "Go on, Hiram, show 'em what you can do," urged Luke Fodick, who was a sort of toady to Hiram Shell, the school bully, if ever there was one.

   But how could she have helped herself? I asked, imagining the sneers and the laughter, the adulation of the toadies, the scepticism of the professional poet.

   More examples (2)

   Come 20 January, [Donald] Trump and his toadies – including billionaires such as Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – will have total control over the executive branch of the United States government.

   Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman turned Democrat, said: “He’s absolutely risen to the occasion: he’s a thoroughly despicable, dishonest toady for Donald Trump, and he’s doing it wonderfully.

2. A coarse, rustic woman.

   Usage

   • Archaic

Verb

1. To behave like a toady (toward someone).

   Usage

   • Intransitive
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   fawnflannelsuck up

   Examples

   But bless your hearts, we "ain't so green," though lots of us of all sorts toady you enough certainly, and try to make you think so.

   He had toadied to the late Mr William Morris: he had toadied to various members of the Fabian Society, he had toadied at first to the great Bransdon himself.

   More examples (1)

   I dared not do anything to spoil the image of me she had set up to adore. I had toadied to her when she was the awesome duenna of my darling, and a groveling something still persisted in my attitude toward her.

Adjective

1. toadlike

   Examples

   The bath is of greatest advantage in these chronic cases, with an earthy complexion and toady skin, if I am allowed thus to express its appearance.

Noun

1. a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

   Synonyms

   sycophantcrawlerlackeyass-kisser

   Broader terms

   flattereradulator

Verb

1. try to gain favor by cringing or flattering

   Synonyms

   fawntrucklebootlickkowtowkotowsuck up

   Broader terms

   flatterblandish

   Examples

   He is always kowtowing to his boss