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单词 obsequious
释义
obsequious
(once / 2498 pages)
adj

If you disapprove of the overly submissive way someone is acting — like the teacher's pet or a celebrity's assistant — call them by the formal adjective obsequious.
There are many words in the English language for a person or an action that is overly obedient and submissive. Obsequious people are usually not being genuine; they resort to flattery and other fawning ways to stay in the good graces of authority figures. An obsequious person can be called a bootlicker, a brownnoser or a toady. You can also say that someone gives an obsequious bow, a gesture that means, "your wish is my command."
VOCABULARY SHOUT-OUT
In Defense of "Obsequious"

In an editorial for the Chicago Tribune yesterday, columnist Eric Zorn took issue with the College Board's inclusion of obsequious in a list of "low-frequency words that would be unlikely to be assessed directly as words-in-context questions on the redesigned SAT." Zorn wrote:

Zorn then goes on to describe the College Board's new strategy for assessing vocabulary, which Vocabulary.com director of curriculum Georgia Scurletis shed light on last week here. Taking issue not so much with the reform itself, but with where the lines are drawn, Zorn returns to obsequious, interviewing Vocabulary.com lexicographer Ben Zimmer for the word's "back story" and drawing conclusions about why word learning matters.

"Obsequious"… shows up in the writings of Wordsworth, Dickens, Joyce and (three times!) Shakespeare. It has a useful Latin root — sequi, to follow — that you'll find in such common words as sequel and consequence.

And it has a good back story.

"Historically, the word underwent pejoration, i.e., its connotations became increasingly negative," wrote Ben Zimmer, executive producer of the "Visual Thesaurus" and Vocabulary.com, in an email response to a query from me. "Originally it just meant `ready to serve,' but over time it became associated with the most objectionable kind of deferential people: the bootlickers, fawners, sycophants and toadies."

Great words, those! Deferential. Bootlicker. Fawner. Sycophant. Toady. Most of which you're likely to encounter when you look up "obsequious," and each of which has its own nuance and instructive etymology.

Knowing such words isn't just a parlor stunt akin to reciting pi to 500 digits, but a key to more insightful reading and more precise and varied expression.

Words help you think. The more you know, the better able you are to say exactly what you want to say.

"Students need to make sure that high-level words are in their vocabulary arsenal if they're going to take on challenging reading passages," said Zimmer, a Wall Street Journal language columnist whose Vocabulary.com website and app feature interactive word games that drill down into the subtleties of usage.

My apprehension here is that the quick gloss on this news story — SAT says fancy words no longer important — will discourage students and teachers from the relentless expansion of vocabulary that's integral to a good education.

Obsequious is a delightful and useful word. Tribune theater critic Chris Jones employed it this month, describing a character as "obsequious but clearly malevolent." When I was a kid, we used it to describe Rudi, our opportunistically ever-groveling family dog.

Just because students no longer have to know it doesn't mean they shouldn't want to learn it.

Do you want to learn obsequious? Check out the obsequious page in our Dictionary, then click "learn" to add it to the words you're seeing in the Vocabulary.com game.

WORD FAMILY
obsequious: obsequiously, obsequiousness
USAGE EXAMPLES
This delusional, obsequious machine—a robot clown—was my favorite joke of 2016.
Slate(Dec 22, 2016)
Trump had been obsequious in trying to lure Ronald and Nancy Reagan to his business empire, and tried just as hard with the Clintons.
New York Times(Nov 02, 2016)
The obsequious press will turn on her once they don't have Trump to kick around.
New York Times(Oct 17, 2016)
1adj attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
Syn
bootlicking, fawning, sycophantic, toadyish
insincere
lacking sincerity
2adj attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner
obsequious shop assistants
Syn
servile
submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
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更新时间:2024/12/23 20:37:38